Just about each single aspect of Formulation 1 immediately is unrecognisable versus the form of grand prix racing firstly of the championship’s life – simply think about the concept of Juan Manuel Fangio and Giuseppe Farina sat side-by-side upon a settee enjoying the same old social media-friendly parlour video games, or Maurice Trintignant courting backlash for an ill-advised and unexpectedly deleted Instagram story. It appears utterly incongruous with F1 then, but it surely’s a key a part of F1 now.
Fortunately, the core of the championship stays: construct the most effective automotive with the supplies accessible, race, and whoever finishes on the entrance by the tip of the requisite distance wins.
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As of 2025, McLaren is doing the most effective job of that. As of 1950, it was Alfa Romeo that did so – successful six of the seven world championship races in F1’s inaugural season. The one it did not win was the Indianapolis 500, which it didn’t enter, however that is already contentious sufficient with out delving into the subject material…
Indy tangent apart, we thought it may be a enjoyable technique to look again on F1’s development via the years with a comparability between our present class of the sector – the MCL39 – with Alfa Romeo’s 158. Will this extol the virtues of contemporary expertise, or just lend credence to a better-back-then crowd that savoured the times when race victors lapped the whole area? We’ll attempt to be goal.
Dimensions
Alfa Romeo 158
McLaren MCL39
Size
≈4250mm
>5000mm
Width
≈1550mm
2000mm
Wheelbase
2500mm
<3600mm
Weight
≈650kg
800kg
There is a cause why the 158 was often known as the ‘Alfetta’ when it was first produced in 1938 (think about turning as much as an F1 spherical with a automotive designed 12 years in the past now). It was an extremely small package deal, conceived then as a voiturette, which ultimately proved to be compliant with the unique F1 (initially Formulation A) rules.
But, it was a contact longer than among the different vehicles on the grid in 1950, just like the Maserati 4CLT and Ferrari 125, and much bigger than most F1 vehicles round within the Nineteen Sixties, as vehicles acquired smaller and lighter earlier than the swell in sizes started within the modern-day – a bit bit like how telephones grew to become tiny, earlier than smartphones began ballooning into pocket-sized tablets. It was additionally comparatively heavy, though cited weight figures range between 600kg-700kg, presumably to accommodate for gas.
F1 vehicles are a lot larger now in comparison with 75 years in the past
Photograph by: Alexander Trienitz
Versus immediately’s vehicles, the 158 appears to be like microscopic. McLaren’s MCL39 is typical of immediately’s period of vehicles, the place the positioning of hybrid programs and underbody aero necessitated the necessity to make vehicles longer, even in comparison with vehicles from 15-20 years in the past; immediately’s machines look big. The 2017 aero regs introduced again a most width of 2000mm after virtually 20 years of working to a ‘slim’ 1800mm, and the 2022-spec guidelines retained this kind issue.
After which there’s the burden; once more, versus lots of the vehicles that succeeded it, the 158 was a lot heavier – however for the time, this was very a lot in the identical ballpark. Vehicles of the Nineteen Sixties slipped beneath the 500kg mark, however since then have continued to develop due to the protection programs, tyres and energy unit elements on board. The 800kg determine of immediately’s vehicles contains the driving force mass however excludes gas.
Chassis and suspension
Alfa Romeo 158
McLaren MCL39
Chassis
Tubular body
Carbon-fibre monocoque
Entrance suspension
Trailing-arm, transverse leaf spring
Pullrod-activated, carbon fibre/titanium wishbones, torsion bar springs/dampers
Rear suspenson
Swing axle (158, 1950), De Dion axle (159, 1951), transverse leaf springs
Pushrod-activated, carbon fibre/titanium wishbones, torsion bar springs/dampers
Earlier than the monocoque entered the F1 vernacular within the Nineteen Sixties, vehicles had been constructed onto frames, with the bodywork panels affixed to it. The 158 was additionally developed lengthy earlier than frequent conference decreed that the engine block ought to develop into a careworn member, that means that this was merely bolted into the prevailing framework.
The trailing-arm suspension on the entrance was underpinned by a transverse leaf spring linking each wheel hubs, whereas the 158 used a swing axle on the rear to make sure each rear wheels operated independently beneath bump and rebound circumstances. Nonetheless, the constraints of this technique – with little management over jacking, camber, and instability beneath excessive cornering circumstances – prompted a swap to a De Dion rear structure.
Suspension layouts in fashionable F1 have two features: they have to fulfil a given function set out by automobile dynamics engineers, and contribute aerodynamically. Lately, groups have experimented with pushrod and pullrod inclinations on the entrance and rear; McLaren took a front-mounted pullrod structure and a rear-mounted pushrod when the present regs had been launched in 2022, and has additionally addressed the positioning of its suspension wishbone legs so as to limit chassis motion to make sure a steady aero platform.
Present vehicles have additionally used torsion bars as dampers for a number of years, given their smaller measurement and weight versus standard coil springs/damper items.
Powertrain, drivetrain and gas economic system
Alfa Romeo was powered by its personal engine in 1950, whereas McLaren is a Mercedes buyer squad
Photograph by: Motorsport Pictures
Alfa Romeo 158
McLaren MCL39
Engine
Alfa Romeo 1.5-litre inline-eight, plus Roots-type supercharger
Mercedes 1.6-litre V6, direct injection, turbocharger plus MGU-Okay and MGU-H restoration programs
Gearbox
4-speed guide
Eight-speed seamless-shift semi-automatic
Gas
Shell (98% methanol)
Petronas
Gas consumption
≈1.5-2 mpg
Restricted to 100kg/hour
An inside combustion engine hasn’t actually modified in its total type, however the particulars and ancillary parts are very completely different. Alfa’s inline-eight made use of a supercharger; the unique 1938 automotive produced round 190bhp, however this was upped to round 350bhp by 1950.
The gas tank was stored within the tail of the automotive and, though its excessive gas consumption was not a lot of a difficulty in 1950 given the pace of the 158 versus the opposite vehicles, it value victory in 1951’s British GP as each Fangio and Farina needed to cease twice for gas, versus Ferrari’s one-stop for winner Jose Froilan Gonzalez.
Right this moment’s engines are 1.6-litre V6s with turbochargers, and the addition of the MGU-H for restoration and MGU-Okay for restoration and drive brings the final word energy determine as much as round 1000bhp. The powertrains boast effectivity figures of over 50%, due to each hybridization and advances in ignition, timing and precision. McLaren has been equipped by Mercedes since 2021, after ditching its Renault deal, and can proceed with the German model to a minimum of 2030.
Present F1 automotive gearboxes are eight-speed items to handle the torque from the present energy items, and have been semi-automatic paddleshift operated for the reason that Nineties. As engine energy and supply has progressed, so have the transmission items; Alfa’s four-speed ‘field was sufficient to place the straight-eight’s shocking would possibly onto the highway, however F1 moved on; five-speed items began to permeate the grid later into the last decade and remained fashionable for years, significantly via the turbo-era. F1 is as much as eight ahead gears now.
What else is completely different? We have direct injection over carburettors, engine administration programs, all types of sensors… oh, and the engine sits within the again.
Brakes, tyres and extra
Alfa Romeo 158
McLaren MCL39
Brakes
Hydraulic drum brakes
Six-piston calipers, brake-by-wire system, carbon-carbon discs/pads
Steering
Worm-and-sector
Energy-assisted rack-and-pinion
Tyres
Pirelli
Pirelli
Wheels
17/18″ wire spokes
BBS 18″, magnesium alloy
The stopping energy of a modern-day F1 automotive is unimaginable, as drivers can stamp on the brakes 100 metres earlier than a slow-speed nook at effectively over 200mph, and guarantee an 800kg monster could make it via on the proper pace. The MCL39’s braking system has six-piston calipers to deal with the dimensions of the brake pads – carbon discs and pads have been in use in F1 for a number of years, due to their superior energy and efficiency over metal.
Regardless of huge modifications, one fixed is the usage of tyre producer
Photograph by: Pirelli
There’s a frequent thread right here: each vehicles use Pirelli tyres. Whenever you have a look at them, nevertheless, there’s little or no in similarity right here aside from the model title and the shape issue of a black, rubbery circle. Within the Fifties, tyres had been extremely slim with a definite tread sample – and, once you have a look at them face on, typically used optimistic camber; this was to scale back rolling resistance on the straights by decreasing the tyre contact patch. As tyre producers began to experiment with radial-ply tyre constructions over the then-common cross-ply construction, the tyres themselves may take extra load; in 1971, the primary slick tyre was produced by Firestone for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Twenty-seven years later, treaded tyres had been reintroduced as a measure to gradual vehicles down; grooved dry tyres lasted till the tip of 2008, earlier than slicks had been reintroduced. Right this moment’s tyres are produced solely by Pirelli, which has six dry compounds and two wet-weather constructions.
Drivers
Alfa Romeo (1950 common drivers)
McLaren
Juan Manuel Fangio (5x world champion – 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957)
Lando Norris (5x grand prix winner, runner-up in 2024 championship)
Giuseppe Farina (1950 world champion)
Oscar Piastri (6x grand prix winner, chief of 2025 championship)
Luigi Fagioli (third in 1950 championship)
Drivers had been constructed very in another way within the early days of F1. Quite than having to evolve to immediately’s commonplace of a lean, athletic determine to commerce off energy and weight, racers had been far burlier figures. They usually wanted to be, in the event that they had been to regulate the vehicles of the time. Age didn’t weary them both; Farina was virtually 44 when he gained the inaugural Formulation 1 world championship for drivers, Fangio was 40 when he took his first F1 title in 1951 (and 46 when he gained his final), and Fagioli was 52 when he raced in 1950 (and 53 when he shared the successful Alfa with Fangio within the 1951’s French Grand Prix).
In additional fashionable instances, it was often frequent for F1 drivers to debut of their early-to-mid 20s earlier than Max Verstappen’s look in F1 on the age of 17 moderately modified the notion. F1 accordingly created a minimal age restrict of 18 to provide drivers extra time within the junior classes. Norris was 19 when he made his F1 grand prix debut on the 2019 Australian GP, whereas Piastri was 21 when McLaren signed him for 2023.
Drivers tended to span disciplines or championships throughout this period, straying past grand prix racing to drive in sportscars races. In that context, Norris’s expertise in endurance racing after collaborating within the 2018 Daytona 24 Hours might be considered as one thing of a throwback – though this got here earlier than his F1 profession. Except for exceptions reminiscent of Fernando Alonso, most drivers immediately are single-discipline racers, understandably so given the dimensions of the trendy calendar.
F1 drivers are a lot youthful than they had been 75 years in the past
Photograph by: Pink Bull Content material Pool
On this article
Jake Boxall-Legge
Formulation 1
McLaren
Alfa Romeo
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