Formula One automobile racing has its roots in the European Grand Prix championships of the 1920s and 1930s, though the foundation of the modern Formula One began in 1946 with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA) standardisation of rules, which was followed by a World Championship of Drivers in 1950.
Lola Cars International Ltd. was a British race car engineering company in operation from 1958 to 2012. The company was founded by Eric Broadley in Bromley, England, before moving to new premises in Slough, Buckinghamshire and finally Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and endured for more than fifty years to become one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world. Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into a wider range of sporting vehicles. Lola was acquired by Martin Birrane in 1998 after the unsuccessful MasterCard Lola attempt at Formula One.
The 1979 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1979. It was the ninth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.
The 1979 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 9 September 1979 at Monza. It was the thirteenth race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.
The 1980 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 World Championship of Drivers and the 1980 International Cup for F1 Constructors, which were contested concurrently from 13 January to 5 October over a fourteen-race series. The season also included one non-championship race, the Spanish Grand Prix.
Brian Herman Thomas Redman, is a retired British racing driver.
Kurt Mollekens is a Belgian race car driver and team owner.
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula Ford has traditionally been regarded as the first major stepping stone into formula racing after karting. The series typically sees professional career minded drivers enter alongside amateurs and enthusiasts. Success in Formula F can lead directly to other junior formula series such as a Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Three, or the W Series for female drivers.
Bas Leinders is a retired professional racing driver from Belgium. He was a Formula One test and reserve driver in 2004 for the Minardi F1 team, taking part in the Friday practice sessions during Grand Prix weekends, making 17 appearances in all. He is also a former British Formula Ford and German Formula Three champion, winning the titles in 1995 and 1998 respectively.
Swift Engineering Inc. is an American spacecraft engineering firm that builds autonomous systems, helicopters, submarines, spacecraft, ground vehicles, robotics, and composite parts. Swift used to produce racing cars for open-wheel racing series, including Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic, the Champ Car World Series and Formula Nippon, having designed and fabricated over 500 race cars.
Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula Ford chassis, which have been at the forefront of that class of motorsport for over 20 years and led it to becoming the largest manufacturer of bespoke racing cars in the world.
The Williams FW07 was a ground effect Formula One racing car designed by Patrick Head, Frank Dernie, and Neil Oatley for the 1979 F1 season. It was closely based on the Lotus 79, even being developed in the same wind tunnel at Imperial College London. Some observers, among them Lotus aerodynamicist Peter Wright felt the FW07 was little more than a re-engineered Lotus 79. The car was small and simple and extremely light, powered by the ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV. It had very clean lines and seemed to be a strong challenger for the new season, but early reliability problems halted any serious threat for the title. While not the first to use ground effects in Formula One, an honour belonging to Colin Chapman and the Lotus 78, Head may have had a better grasp of the principles than even Chapman. While Head had been developing the Lotus 78's/79's basic principles in the FW07, Chapman’s design team was attempting to take the ground effect idea further ahead of rivals on the Lotus 80 engaging the entire bottom of the chassis as an aerodynamic device for generating downforce without the necessity of external wings. Since the Lotus 80 solution had many drawbacks, Chapman devised the twin-chassis concept of Lotus 86 and 88 that should have solved the issues, but it was never allowed to race due to failure to comply with existing technical rules.
Formula Ford 1600 is a number of championships which cater to 1600cc, Ford Kent powered Formula Ford racing cars. These are cars that were disbanded when the UK national Formula Ford category adopted the 1800cc Zetec engines in 1993. However, has been running as several regional club championships ever since and has recently enjoyed renewed success. Several cars constructed to Zetec rules have been converted to accept a Kent engine, as well as the Duratec powered cars that followed. There have also been several recent purpose-built kent cars which have enjoyed successes.
Mygale Racing Car Constructor is a French racing car manufacturer that specialises in the production of single seater chassis for use in formula racing. It is most notable for its Formula Ford chassis. Mygale also produces the chassis used by in Formula Renault, Formula BMW, Formula Three and Formula Four. The company was established in 1989 by Bertrand Decoster and its factory is based in the Technopole of Magny-Cours, France.
The British Formula Ford Championship was an entry level single seater motor racing category, designed to give racing drivers their first step into car racing after karting. Drivers from around the world were attracted to the United Kingdom to compete in the series, and successful Formula One drivers such as Ayrton Senna and Jenson Button won their first single-seater titles in the championship. The championship was run to various Formula Ford regulations over the years, based on the engines provided for the championship by Ford Motor Company. These engine based regulations/specifications include the Ford Kent engine, Ford Zetec engine, Ford Duratec engine and in the final years the Ford EcoBoost engine.
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship is an American racing series using the American variation of the Formula Ford formula, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. As of 2022, it is sanctioned by the United States Auto Club, and is the first rung of the Road to Indy.
Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis.
Colchester Racing Developments produced Merlyn racing cars from 1960 to 1979. The company was founded by Clive Maskrey, Selwyn Hayward and continued by Hayward's brother, Clive. When the manufacture of Merlyn racing cars stopped, Clive Hayward continued to manufacture Merlyn parts as CRD Tool and Engineering Ltd. This company stopped trading in November 2015, but Clive Hayward continues to run Colchester Racing Developments, manufacturing Merlyn components and carrying out chassis repairs.
Dennis Retera is a Dutch racing driver currently competing in the International GT Open. Retera has raced in the International Formula Master, Formula Renault 2.0 and other racing series. In 2008 Retera joined A1 Team Netherlands as a test driver.