Auto racing in the context of Racing


Auto racing in the context of Racing

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⭐ Core Definition: Auto racing

Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines.

Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials, aimed at proving these new machines were a practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed.

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Auto racing in the context of Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. (/fəˈrɑːri/; Italian: [ferˈraːri]) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and began to produce its current line of road cars in 1947. Ferrari became a public company in 1960, and from 1963 to 2014 it was a subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A. It was spun off from Fiat's successor entity, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, in 2016. The company currently offers a large model range which includes several supercars, grand tourers, and one SUV. Many early Ferraris, dating to the 1950s and 1960s, count among the most expensive cars ever sold at auction.

Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where its team, Scuderia Ferrari, is the series' single oldest and most successful. Scuderia Ferrari has raced since 1929, first in Grand Prix events and later in Formula One, where it holds many records. Historically, Ferrari was also highly active in sports car racing, where its cars took many wins in races such as the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as several overall victories in the World Sportscar Championship. Scuderia Ferrari fans, commonly called tifosi, are known for their passion and loyalty to the team.

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Auto racing in the context of Formula One World Championship

Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel, single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of motorsport since its inaugural running in 1950 and is often considered to be the pinnacle of motorsport. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participant cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed roads.

A points scoring system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for the drivers, and one for the constructors—now synonymous with teams. Each driver must hold a valid Super Licence, the highest class of racing licence the FIA issues, and the races must be held on Grade One tracks, the highest grade rating the FIA issues for tracks.

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Auto racing in the context of Sports car

A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1910s and are currently produced by many manufacturers around the world.

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Auto racing in the context of De Tomaso

De Tomaso Automobili Ltd. (previously known as De Tomaso Modena SpA) is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded in 1959 by Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena. It originally produced various sports prototypes and auto racing vehicles, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1970. Most of the funding for the automaker came from Amory Haskell Jr.

In 1971, Ford Motor Company acquired an 84 percent stake in De Tomaso with Alejandro de Tomaso himself holding the balance. Ford sold back their stake in the automaker in 1974. The De Tomaso brand was acquired in 2014 by Hong Kong–based Ideal Team Ventures and in 2019 the newly formed company presented their first product, a retro-styled sports car called the De Tomaso P72.

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Auto racing in the context of Formula One

Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel, single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of motorsport since its inaugural running in 1950 and is often considered to be the pinnacle of motorsport. The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participant cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix. Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed roads.

A points scoring system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for the drivers, and one for the constructors—now synonymous with teams. Each driver must hold a valid Super Licence, the highest class of racing licence the FIA issues, and the races must be held on Grade One tracks, the highest grade rating the FIA issues for circuits.

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Auto racing in the context of Grand Prix motor racing

Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver. Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because early races took place on open roads, accidents occurred frequently, resulting in deaths both of drivers and of spectators. A common abbreviation used for Grand Prix racing is "GP" or "GP racing".

The Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus, founded in Paris, on 20 June 1904, reorganised as Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), in 1947, headquartered in Paris. Each event of the Formula One World Championships is still called a Grand Prix; Formula One is also referred to as "Grand Prix racing". Some IndyCar championship races are also called "Grands Prix".

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Auto racing in the context of Sports car racing

Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. The cars in question may be either purpose-built sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand tourers (GT cars) which, being based on road-going models, are considerably more common, but not as fast. Sports car races are often endurance races run over particularly long distances or large amounts of time (generally between 6 and 24 hours), resulting in an emphasis on reliability and efficiency of the car and its drivers over outright car performance or driver skills. The FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship are some of the best-known sports car racing series, and so is the GT World Challenge. Sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit auto racing, alongside open-wheel racing (such as Formula One and Indycar), touring car racing (such as BTCC and V8 Supercars, which is based on 'saloon cars' as opposed to the 'exotics' seen in sports cars) and stock car racing (such as NASCAR).

A hybrid of the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, sports car racing is commonly associated with the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans is one of the longest-running motor races. Well-known defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio (1906–1977) and Mille Miglia (1927–1957), and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana (1950–1954). Most top-class sports car races focus more on endurance and strategy than pure speed or skills, and longer races usually involve complex pit strategies and regular driver changes. As a result, sports car racing is seen more as a team endeavour than an individual sport, with team managers such as John Wyer, Tom Walkinshaw, driver-turned-constructor Henri Pescarolo, Peter Sauber and Reinhold Joest becoming almost as famous as some of their drivers.

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Auto racing in the context of Brake checking

A brake check, also known as a brake test, occurs when a driver deliberately either taps on the brakes several times or slams hard on the pedal when moving in front of another vehicle, with the intention of causing the behind driver to either collide or take evasive action. The term is often applied in the context of auto racing.

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Auto racing in the context of Wankel engine

The Wankel engine (/ˈvʌŋkəl/, VAHN-kəl) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. The concept was proven by German engineer Felix Wankel, followed by a commercially feasible engine designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. The Wankel engine's rotor is similar in shape to a Reuleaux triangle, with the sides having less curvature. The rotor spins inside a figure-eight-like epitrochoidal housing around a fixed gear. The midpoint of the rotor moves in a circle around the output shaft, rotating the shaft via a cam.

In its basic gasoline-fuelled form, the Wankel engine has lower thermal efficiency and higher exhaust emissions relative to the four-stroke reciprocating engine. This thermal inefficiency has restricted the Wankel engine to limited use since its introduction in the 1960s. However, many disadvantages have mainly been overcome over the succeeding decades following the development and production of road-going vehicles. The advantages of compact design, smoothness, lower weight, and fewer parts over reciprocating internal combustion engines make Wankel engines suited for applications such as chainsaws, auxiliary power units (APUs), loitering munitions, aircraft, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, motorcycles, racing cars, and automotive range extenders.

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Auto racing in the context of NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top-ranked motorsports organizations in the world and is one of the largest spectator sports leagues in America. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France, has been the CEO since August 2018. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Europe.

NASCAR, and stock car racing as a whole, traces its roots back to moonshine runners during Prohibition, who grew to compete against each other in a show of pride. In 1935, Bill France Sr. established races in Daytona Beach, with the hope that people would come to watch races and that racers would race for him, as other organizers tended to fleece the winners of their payouts. This was a success, and the series was founded in 1948. Races were held in several divisions, which eventually morphed into what is the "ladder": the Cup Series at the top, the Xfinity Series second, and the Truck Series third, with smaller series spread out below. Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota compete in each series.

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Auto racing in the context of Sport in Russia

The most popular sport in Russia is association football. According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians: "Association football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball, basketball, futsal, boxing, auto racing, volleyball, athletics, tennis, and chess rounding out the top ten rankings. Other popular sports include bandy, biathlon, figure skating, weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, martial arts, rugby union, and skiing.

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Auto racing in the context of Flying Finn

"The Flying Finn" (Finnish: Lentävä suomalainen, Swedish: Flygande finländaren) is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. It was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term also refers to notable Finnish racing drivers.

Flying Finn is also the title of a documentary about the history of sports in Finland, and is the first English-language documentary produced in Finland.

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Auto racing in the context of Formula racing

Formula racing, also known as open-wheel racing in North America, is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. A "formula", first devised by FIA for its post–World War II single-seater races, is a set of regulations for a given type of car. The best known are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three, regional Formula Three and Formula Four. Common usage of "formula racing" encompasses other single-seater series, including the IndyCar Series and the Super Formula Championship.

Lower categories such as Formula Three and Formula Two are described as junior formulae, lower formulae, or feeder formulae, referring to their position below top-level series like Formula One on their respective career ladders of single-seater motor racing. There are two primary forms of racing formula: open formula, which allows a choice of chassis or engines; and control or "spec" formula, which specifies a single supplier for chassis and engines. Formula Three is an example of an open formula, while Formula BMW is a control formula. Exceptions include Formula Ford, which has an open chassis formula but a single-brand engine formula.

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Auto racing in the context of Stock car racing

Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. Originating in the southern United States, its largest governing body is NASCAR, whose NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top-level series of professional stock car racing. Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile also have forms of stock car racing in the Americas. Other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have forms of stock car racing worldwide as well. Top-level races typically range between 200 and 600 miles (322 and 966 km) in length.

Top-level stock cars exceed 200 mph (322 km/h) at speedway tracks and on superspeedway tracks such as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.Contemporary NASCAR-spec top-level cars produce maximum power outputs of 860–900 hp from their naturally aspirated V8 engines. In October 2007 American race car driver Russ Wicks set a speed record for stock cars in a 2007-season Dodge Charger built to NASCAR specifications by achieving a maximum speed of 244.9 mph (394.1 km/h) at Bonneville Speedway. For the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series, power output of the competing cars ranged from 750 to 800 hp (560 to 600 kW).

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Auto racing in the context of Touring car racing

Touring car racing is a form of motorsport racing featuring production-based cars that are modified for competition. The discipline emphasizes close racing, balanced performance, and manufacturer diversity, with cars that still resemble their road-going counterparts. Originating in Europe in the mid-20th century, touring car racing has since expanded globally through rule sets such as Group A, Super Touring, and the FIA TCR formula. Major championships include the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), German Touring Car Masters (DTM), and Supercars Championship. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.

Modern touring car championships increasingly rely on Balance of Performance (BoP) and cost-control regulations to ensure close competition among manufacturers and private teams. The adoption of hybrid technology and the introduction of electric touring car series, such as the ETCR (now FIA E-Touring Car World Cup), mark the category’s adaptation to sustainability trends in motorsport. While the cars do not move as fast as those in formula or sports car races, their similarity both to one another and to fans' own vehicles makes for well-supported racing. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have a much easier time passing than in open-wheel racing, and the more substantial bodies of the cars makes the subtle bumping and nudging for overtaking much more acceptable as part of racing.

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Auto racing in the context of List of Formula One Grands Prix

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing series managed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of FIA rules to which all participants and vehicles are required to conform. The Formula One World Championship season consists of a series of races around the world, known as Grands Prix, usually held on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. Each Grand Prix meeting lasts three days with either one or three practice sessions before a three-part qualifying session on Saturday to set the starting order for Sunday's race. A Saturday sprint is held at select events, with the starting grid determined by a separate, shorter qualifying session held on Friday. Grands Prix are frequently named after the country, region or city in which they are raced, and in some seasons, nations have hosted more than one event. Should Formula One hold two or more races in the same nation in the same year, on either a different or the same track, then their names will be different. The results of each Grand Prix held throughout the season are combined to decide two annual championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.

Grand Prix distance regulations have varied throughout Formula One history. Between 1950 and 1957, events ran for more than 300 km (190 mi) or three hours. In 1958, race lengths were set between 300 and 500 km (190 and 310 mi) or two hours. It was reduced to between 300 and 400 km (190 and 250 mi) from 1966 with an established maximum length of 321.87 km (200.00 mi) in 1971. From 1973 to 1980, races had to last either 321.87 km (200.00 mi) or two hours, whichever came first. Distances of between 250 and 320 km (160 and 200 mi) or two hours were used from 1981 to 1984. The minimum distance was revised to 300 km (190 mi) including the formation lap in 1984 and the maximum length was standardised at 305 km (190 mi) in 1989. The exception to the rule is the Monaco Grand Prix, which has a scheduled length of at least 260 km (160 mi). No race can last more than two hours if it goes unhalted. From 2012, the maximum permitted race time including probable stoppages was four hours, before being reduced to three hours for 2021.

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Auto racing in the context of List of Formula One circuits

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is currently the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and vehicles must conform. The Formula One World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, usually held on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual championships, one for drivers (World Drivers' Championship), and one for constructors (World Constructors' Championship).

This list is for the circuits that hosted World Championship races from 1950 until now.

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Auto racing in the context of List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing series administered by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of rules set by the FIA to which all participants and vehicles are required to conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, usually held on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. A points scoring system is used for each Grand Prix held over the course of the F1 season to determine the outcome of two annual championships, one for drivers (World Drivers' Championship) since 1950, and one for constructors (World Constructors' Championship) since 1958. Each driver accumulates championship points individually in the World Drivers' Championship and collectively for the team they compete for in the World Constructors' Championship. Both championships are formally awarded at the end-of-season FIA Prize Giving Ceremony to the driver and team with the most points.

As of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 356 drivers have scored Drivers' Championship points, and 73 out of 170 teams have scored Constructors' Championship points, in 1,149 World Championship races. Lewis Hamilton has the highest Drivers' Championship points total with 5018.5, Max Verstappen is second with 3444.5 and Sebastian Vettel is third with 3098. Scuderia Ferrari holds the record for the highest Constructors' Championship points total with 10722, Red Bull Racing is second with 8288, and Mercedes is third with 8159.5. Drivers received an equal points distribution share if they shared a car with another or set the same fastest lap as another between 1950 and 1957. Second drivers of teams who officially entered only one car were ineligible for points on two occasions involving three drivers.

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Auto racing in the context of List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The Formula One World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The World Drivers' Championship is presented by the FIA to the most successful Formula One driver over the course of the season through a points system based on individual Grand Prix results. The World Championship is won by a driver when it is no longer mathematically possible for another competitor to overtake their points total regardless of the outcome of the remaining races, although it is not officially awarded until the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony (held in various cities in different years) following the conclusion of the season.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most World Drivers' championships, both having won the title on seven occasions. Juan Manuel Fangio is third with five titles. Schumacher also holds the record for the most consecutive World Drivers' titles with five between the 2000 and the 2004 seasons. Nigel Mansell holds the record of competing in the highest number of seasons before winning the World Drivers' Championship, entering Formula One in 1980 and achieving the title in 1992, a span of 13 seasons. Nico Rosberg has the highest number of Grand Prix starts before winning his first title, a period of 206 Grands Prix between the 2006 Bahrain and the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel is the youngest winner of the World Drivers' Championship; he was 23 years and 134 days old when he won the 2010 championship. Juan Manuel Fangio is the oldest winner of the World Drivers' Championship; he was 46 years and 41 days old when he won the 1957 title.

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