Source: Statista
70 years ago, on 13 May 1950, the inaugural Formula One World Championship Grand Prix took place at Silverstone in the UK. The race was won by Italy’s Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo 158 on Pirelli tyres in a time of 2 hours 13 minutes. A lot has changed since then and to show how far things have come in terms of speed, here’s a comparison of the first Grand Prix at Silverstone and the latest, 1,006 races later:
1950 Circuit length: 4.65km Fastest lap: 1:50.6 (Farina)
2019 Circuit length: 5.89km Fastest lap: 1:27.4 (Hamilton)
Aside from the speed gained from developments in technology, safety has been one of the greatest advancements in the sport in the modern era. Helmets were only made compulsory in 1952 after the death of Luigi Fagioli and six-point safety harnesses were only mandatory from 1972. Highlighting the progress further, the fatal accident which claimed the life of Jules Bianchi in 2014 is the most recent the sport has had to endure and was itself the first since Ayrton Senna lost his life at Imola in 1994.
