Time Formula 1 Racing
TIME FORMULA 1
FORMULA 1’S DRAMATIC COMEBACK • The Netflix hit Drive to Survive helped F1 crack the U.S. market and rejuvenated the sport, but that’s not the only factor behind the rise.
AWAY WE GO • Grand Prix racing dates to the late 19th century, but the first Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix race was held in England in 1950. Defined by strategy, endurance, and speed, the races today are staged around the globe, making F1 a truly international sport.
1 SPEED, GLORY, AND GLAMOUR • Riding on its champagne-soaked history, telegenic drivers, off-track drama, and cars that can hit 230 m.p.h., Formula 1 has finally cracked the U.S. market.
AMPING UP THE AMERICAN GRANDS PRIX • $125,000 hotel rooms. $23,000 tickets. Formula 1’s Miami debut was gilded and glamorous.
Taylor Swift to the Rescue • How the pop star saved Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
A BET ON LAS VEGAS PAYS OFF • The inaugural Vegas Grand Prix produced the best race of the season and delivered $1.5 billion to Sin City’s coffers. Edition two was also a hit, but can the race deliver more?
Who’s Who in the Pit Stop
HOW LEWIS HAMILTON GOT HIS FERRARI RED • In one of the biggest team changes in F1 history, the seven-time champ moved from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 season. Now he’s aiming for an eighth title, but the road to the record won’t be easy.
WHAT FUELS MAX’S SUCCESS • The youngest driver to start and win a Formula 1 race, the outspoken, hypercompetitive Max Verstappen has won dozens of Grand Prix races and is one of the most controversial figures in the sport.
Women on Track • A new series, founded by F1, is cultivating a generation of dashing, daredevil female racers.
F1: The Movie HOLLYWOOD GOES FULL THROTTLE • Warner Bros.’s racing flick, starring Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem, includes speed, thrills, and Lewis Hamilton as coproducer.
2 THE ROAD THEY TRAVELED • In the aughts, Formula 1 was plagued by accidents and losing teams, and was struggling with its finances. Then the sport engineered a turnaround.
AYRTON SENNA’S LEGACY • The iconic Brazilian driver brought heart and emotion to the racetrack in the late 1980s and ’90s. But it was his tragic death that changed Formula 1 by prompting the sport to overhaul safety regulations.
THE TURBULENT TIMES OF FORMULA 1 • In 2010, TIME reported how big numbers and gaudy pageantry were masking the series’s problems.
F1 Supremo • The rise and fall of Formula 1’s czar, Bernie Ecclestone.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD • Liberty Media bought Formula 1 in 2016 for $8 billion, put pedal to the metal, and revamped the sport.
The Drive to Survive Effect • Netflix’s pandemic hit drew huge audiences and boosted F1’s fortunes in the U.S.
3 IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT • Charismatic, competitive, and without fear, early Formula 1 stars like Jim Clark and Stirling Moss paved the way for generations of drivers.
HERO WITH A HOT SHOE • Jim Clark began as a shy Scottish sheep farmer, but evolved into one of F1’s greatest stars. His death in 1968 shocked the racing world.
Jackie Stewart • The three-time Formula 1 world champ became one of the sport’s most vocal safety advocates.
Niki Lauda • The Austrian champion recovered from a near-fatal accident through sheer force of will.
Nigel Mansell • Nicknamed “Our Nige” by his fans, Mansell was the second most successful British F1 driver of all time, behind Lewis Hamilton.
SYNONYMOUS WITH SPEED • In 1962, TIME was on hand when Britian’s Stirling Moss, as brash as he was fast, crashed at the Goodwood International Grand Prix.
LEGEND AND MAVERICK • Michael Schumacher, a seven-time world champ, was one of the sport’s best,...