Formula 1 is a racing competition where cars do not weight more than 600 kilos and race at speeds up to 360 kilometers per hour (220mph). The first world championship race was organized in 1950 at Silverstone in England.
It is on the very same racetrack that was shot in 1965 a scene of the James Bond movie Thunderball. It concerned a car chase between Count Lippe, Fiona Volpe and 007.
At the very beginning, this sport was not secure and there were many deaths every year. However, people considered it very entertaining since there were dozens and dozens of passings during those races.
Nowadays it has become safer and safer and the number of passings has considerably decreased. There are between 15 and 20 races per year. In the past, many of them were organized in Europe, which is not the case today.
Formula 1 is now sanctioned by the FIA, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, and rules have changed quite a bit over the last years. The first 8 racers get points, but only the first 3 of them get respectively 10, 8 and 6 points.
The most famous and glorious team of all times is of course Ferrari, with over 15 championships won. His direct rival, Williams, « only » won 9 championships.
Ferrari's success is mostly due to the famous driver Michael Schumacher. He won 91 races, went 154 times on the podium, and started the race in pole position more than 60 times.
And now, some records : the speed record on the racetrack was realized by Kimi Raikkonen, on a McLaren Mercedes, with 370.1 km/h. The speed record of all times was reached by Alan Van der Merwe on a Bar Honda in 2005, with over 410 km/h.
In 1983, John Waston started the race in the 22nd position, and still won the US Grand Prix!!