History of the F1 Constructor’s Championship

The Formula One (F1) World Constructors’ Championship is given to the winning constructor of a season by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile. The FIA World Constructors’ Champion is decided through a point scoring system based on Grand Prix results. The Formula One Championship began in 1946, which was followed by World Drivers’ Championship in 1950. However, the World Constructors’ Championship was awarded for the first time 1958. In this motorsport event, each car make is considered as a constructor. When a driver wins a race for a particular constructor, he scores a point for that constructor and these points are accumulated to determine the Champion at the end of the season. In most cases, the World Drivers’ Champion belongs to the World Constructors’ Champion team.

If a car’s engine and chassis are designed by the same entity, then the name of the constructor is the name of the make, for example Ferrari. If different constructors design the engine and chassis then the name of the make is derived from both constructors, for example McLaren-Mercedes, where the name of the chassis constructor is followed by the name of the engine constructor. The first ever Constructors’ Championship was won by Vanwall in 1958. The British Vanwall team consisted of Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks. Vanwall only made a brief appearance in the Grand Prix circus, but they blazed the circuit during that period and became an important part of the motorsport history.

Scuderia Ferrari is dominating this racing sport with sixteen titles; they won their first title in 1961. Ferrari also held the Championship consecutively for six years, from 1999 to 2004.The Schumacher-Ferrari combo is one of the most successful one, with Schumacher clinching the World Drivers’ Championship as well as the Constructors title for Ferrari during several seasons. Williams is in the second spot after Ferrari with nine titles. McLaren is right behind Williams with eight tiles to their credit. United Kingdom has produced the most winning constructors with 32 championships to their credit, while Italy and France have 16 and 3 championships respectively. Italy, the United States, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Luxembourg and Germany have also given this racing sport many winning engine manufacturers.

Recent F1 Season(s)

The 2009 Constructors’ Championship is scheduled to commence on November 1, 2009. Having won 8 titles in the last ten years, Ferrari had odds favoring them in the beginning of the year, but now bets are piling on Brawn-Mercedes and RBR- Renault to clinch the title. Defending champions Ferrari may have to curb their desire for a consecutive title. Let’s wait and watch how the season winds up!