Formula One to reach 1000 races in Shanghai

SHANGHAI: From the first race at a converted World War II airbase in rural England to this weekend’s 1,000th grand prix at the $240 million international circuit in Shanghai, Formula One has come a long way since it all began in 1950.

Silverstone held the first race 69 years ago and the British Grand Prix has remained, with the Italian GP, the only ever-present races on the calendar. In 70 seasons, Formula One has visited 32 countries across five continents and a street circuit in Vietnam will be the newest addition next year.

Formula One’s organisation was bought for $8 billion in 2017 by US media giant Liberty Media and is now listed on Wall Street -- a long way from the early days when tyre and oil companies supplied their products for free in return for having their logos on drivers’ overalls.

Italian Giuseppe Farina was victorious in May 1950 and went on to clinch the world championship four months later in his home country. A season now lasts more than twice as long.

Michael Schumacher holds the record of seven drivers’ world championships. Schumacher has not been seen in public since suffering life-threatening brain injuries in a skiing accident in 2013.

One of Schumacher’s former Ferrari team-mates, the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, holds the record for most race starts but failed to win a world title in his 18-year career.

Defending champion Lewis Hamilton is closing in on Schumacher’s all-time mark after winning his fifth world title last year at the age of 34 to edge ahead of great rival Sebastian Vettel, who won four championships with Red Bull before moving to Ferrari.

It was Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio who dominated the opening decade with five world championships in seven seasons from 1951. He was succeeded in the 1960s by multiple world champions Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart.