How to start a Formula 1 team

Formula 1 is, first and foremost, a sport. Yes, it’s a multi-billion dollar business, a hangout for the self-proclaimed great and good and one of the most celebrated sports-entertainment products on the planet, but at its heart F1 remains a competition. So what justification can there be for blocking credible new teams?

Historically, Grand Prix racing was open to all-comers. Either you acquired a car from a rival (now against the rules) or you formed your own team and produced your own machinery. There was once a seemingly endless stream of newcomers pitching up, few succeeding and most failing, in some cases hilariously. Any F1 fan of a certain age fondly remembers those days of plucky minnows occasionally doing the impossible and establishing themselves as a genuine force in Grand Prix racing.

This year ten teams will be competing but in, say, 1978? Make that 20. And, as you’re asking: Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, Renault, ATS, Surtees, Wolf, Fittipaldi, Shadow, Ensign, Hesketh, Ligier, Williams, Martini, Theodore, Arrows, Merzario and March.