Timeline

The Fifties 

1950 - The FIA World Championship for Drivers is established for cars conforming to 'Formula One' regulations. Points are awarded 8-6-4-3-2 for the first five finishers with an additional point for fastest lap. Giuseppe Farina wins the first race for Alfa Romeo and subsequently wins the championship.

1951 - Juan Manuel Fangio takes his first championship for Alfa Romeo before the Italian manufacturer pulls out of Formula One at the end of the season.

1952 - A lack of manufacturer support forces the FIA to temporarily adopt Formula Two regulations. Fangio is powerless to defend his title after breaking his neck pre-season; Alberto Ascari and Ferrari dominate the season.

1953 - Ascari successfully keeps hold of the title, winning a ninth race in succession and establishing a record which wouldn't be matched for 60 years. But, the season is overshadowed by an accident at an overcrowded Buenos Aires circuit which claims the lives of nine spectators.

1954 - Formula Two rules replaced by a new two-and-a-half litre formula. Mercedes-Benz takes a one-two finish on its return to Grand Prix racing, and Fangio takes his second title with the German équipe.

1955 - Fangio and Mercedes-Benz take another title together, but the Stuttgart-based team then pulls out of the sport in the wake of the devastating Le Mans disaster, which saw 83 spectators lose their lives.

1956 - In the ultimate act of sportsmanship, Ferrari driver Peter Collins forfeits his own chance to win the championship by handing over his car to teammate Fangio during the season finale at Monza. This selfless gesture gifts Fangio his fourth title.

1957 - Fangio takes a fifth and final championship for Maserati prior to retiring from the sport, setting a record that would not be matched until 2002.

1958 - Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn beats compatriot Stirling Moss by a solitary point to win the title, but retires at the end of the year after the death of close friend Collins. Vanwall takes the inaugural constructors title, thanks in part to the efforts of Moss. Colin Chapman's Lotus team makes its debut.

1959 - Jack Brabham's title victory for Cooper marks the first for a rear-engined car, which by now had by-and-large replaced the front-engined car.

The Sixties

1960 - A single point is now awarded for a sixth place finish, whilst the point for fastest lap is abolished. Brabham defends his crown with Cooper in the final year of the two-and-a-half litre formula.

1961 - Wins are now worth nine instead of eight points. Ferrari dominates in the first year of the new one-and-a-half litre formula, but Phil Hill's championship success is overshadowed by the death of his championship-leading teammate Wolfgang von Trips at Monza.

1962 - Graham Hill and BRM are able to overcome the revolutionary monocoque chassis Lotus and its emerging star driver, Jim Clark, to secure the title.

1963 - Clark and Lotus sweep all before them, the Scotsman taking the theoretical maximum points score en route to the first of his pair of championships.

1964 - John Surtees's title win for Ferrari gives the Brit the unique distinction of having won world championships in both car and motorcycle racing.

1965 - Clark is able to emulate his feat of two years earlier to take another emphatic title for his Lotus team.

1966 - The long-lasting three-litre formula is introduced. Brabham takes a third title for his own team which he founded four years earlier, becoming the first and only owner-driver to do so.

1967 - Denny Hulme delivers the Brabham team its second title. The legendary Cosworth DFV engine, which would go on to take no less than twelve titles over the next decade-and-a-half, makes its debut with the Lotus team.

1968 - National racing colours give way to commercial sponsorship for the first time when Lotus begins to display the Gold Leaf tobacco brand on its cars, whilst rear wings also begin to appear on the cars. Clark is tragically killed in a Formula Two race at Hockenheim, leaving Lotus teammate Graham Hill to take his second title.

1969 - Jackie Stewart seals what would turn out to be his first of three titles with a Tyrrell-ran Matra chassis in dominant fashion.

The Seventies

1970 - Lotus star Jochen Rindt is killed during qualifying at Monza, but is eventually awarded the championship posthumously after closest rival Jacky Ickx fails to surpass his points total. Jack Brabham retires at the end of the season with a record 126 starts under his belt.

1971 - Stewart romps to a second title, this time at the wheel of Tyrrell's own chassis. In the sport's closest-ever race finish, the top five finishers at Monza finish within six-tenths of a second, Peter Gethin coming out on top.

1972 - At age 25, Emerson Fittipaldi becomes the sport's youngest ever champion for Lotus, whose cars adorn the iconic John Player Special livery for the first time.

1973 - Stewart takes a record-breaking 27th race win en route to a third title. He immediately retires from the sport after his Tyrrell teammate and protégé François Cevert is killed during practice at the season-closing race at Watkins Glen.

1974 - Fittipaldi takes the McLaren team's maiden title since it was founded by Bruce McLaren eight years earlier, the team also beginning a long-standing sponsorship deal with Marlboro that would last until the end of 1996.

1975 - Niki Lauda ends a decade-long title drought for Ferrari by taking his first championship win. Graham Hill is killed in a plane crash after stepping down from driving duties in his own team earlier that year; he had surpassed Brabham to become the sport's most experienced ever driver four years earlier. Lella Lombardi also becomes the sport's only ever woman to score points with a sixth place finish at Montjuic, a race in which five spectators are tragically killed.

1976 - Lauda's title defence is put on hold after he suffers a horrific crash at the Nurburgring. Having sustained major facial burns, the Austrian incredibly returns to the cockpit just six weeks later, but surrenders the title to McLaren's James Hunt in appalling conditions at the season finale at Fuji.

1977 - Lauda and Ferrari take another title in spite of innovations from Lotus, who pioneer 'ground effect', Tyrrell, who field a six-wheeled car, and Renault, who introduce the turbocharged engine to the sport.

1978 - Mario Andretti takes the championship in a year marred by a first lap pile-up at Monza that claims the life of his Lotus teammate, Ronnie Peterson. The short-lived Brabham 'fan car' also takes a controversial victory at Anderstorp in the hands of Lauda before being banned immediately after. The FIA establishes FISA to oversee the governing of the sport, the controversial Jean-Marie Balestre becoming its President.

1979 - Jody Scheckter takes what would prove to be Ferrari's final title for 21 years, whilst his young teammate Gilles Villeneuve triumphs over Rene Arnoux's Renault in perhaps the sport's greatest ever head-to-head battle at Dijon. Lauda retires from the sport before the end of the year following two troubled seasons at Brabham.

The Eighties

1980 - Alan Jones secures Williams's first title amid the political furore that is the FISA-FOCA war, a period of conflict between the sport's governing body, backed by the manufacturers, and the British constructors. Patrick Depailler dies in a testing accident at Hockenheim.

1981 - For the first time in the championship's history, all results count towards the championship. The FISA-FOCA war is resolved with the Concorde Agreement, which requires all entrants to construct their own chassis and to contest every round of the championship. In return, the teams would share a portion of the revenue generated by television coverage, the commercial model by which F1 operates today. Brabham's Nelson Piquet beats Williams driver Carlos Reutemann to become the first champion of the new era. Meanwhile, McLaren introduce the sport's first all carbon-fibre chassis.

1982 - In a year of tragedy, Villeneuve loses his life in an accident during qualifying at Zolder, whilst his fierce rival and Ferrari teammate Didier Pironi has his career ended by a severe crash at Hockenheim. Young Italian Ricardo Paletti also loses his life in a start-line collision at Montreal. Keke Rosberg takes an unlikely title for Williams in an ultra-competitive year, the last for the venerable Ford Cosworth DFV engine. Brabham also become the first in the modern era to attempt to gain time by making strategic pit-stops, allowing them to run with less fuel and softer tyres; this tactic soon becomes commonplace.

1983 - Mandatory flat undersides effectively outlaws 'ground effect'. Turbo power begins to dominate as Piquet secures another title for Brabham, who are now making use of BMW engines. Michele Alboreto's win for Tyrrell at Detroit marks the last for a normally-aspirated engine until they are made mandatory six years later.

1984 - Lauda, who came out of retirement two years earlier for McLaren, clinches the title by just half a point from new teammate Alain Prost in the closest ever championship finish. Refuelling mid-race is banned, but tyre strategy continues to play a major role in deciding the outcome of races.

1985 - Only eleven results now count towards the championship due to fears over the reliability of turbo engines, which by mid-season are in use by all teams. Prost takes the first of four titles in domineering style for McLaren, whilst Lauda opts to re-retire after a dismal year.

1986 - Prost narrowly overcomes the Williams duo of Piquet and Nigel Mansell to become the first person to mount a successful title defence since Jack Brabham in 1960. Elio de Angelis is killed in a testing accident at Paul Ricard, whilst Jacques Laffite suffers career-ending injuries having just equalled Graham Hill's tally of race starts.

1987 - Prost surpasses Jackie Stewart's all-time win record, but ultimately lags behind the Williams drivers in the championship standings. Piquet takes his third crown after Mansell misses the final two races due to injury.

1988 - McLaren become virtually unbeatable as they secure a supply of Honda turbo engines and the driving services of Ayrton Senna, whose partnership with Prost is generally regarded as the most formidable in the sport's history - the two drivers win every race bar one between them. Though Prost scores more points, Senna takes his maiden championship on virtue of having to 'drop' fewer points.

1989 - Turbo engines are banned, but McLaren still prove tough to beat. Tension mounts between their two drivers, and the title is decided in favour of Prost as he and Senna controversially collide whilst debating the lead at Suzuka.

The Nineties

1990 - Prost jumps ship to Ferrari in the wake of his bitter rivalry with Senna, but the pair clash at Suzuka once more as the Brazilian deliberately rams his adversary off-piste at the very first corner to claim his second title.

1991 - The points system is modified, with a win now worth ten rather than nine points and all results counting towards the championship for the first time since 1984. Senna is able to claim a third championship with McLaren, fending off a challenge from Mansell's Williams. Max Mosley supplants Balestre as FISA President, whilst Piquet bids goodbye to the sport at the end of the year.

1992 - The Safety Car makes its first appearance since 1973 and is officially written into the regulations. Mansell and Williams this time crush the opposition, the Brit taking full advantage of by far the best car in the field to at last win the championship. Giovanni Amati becomes the most recent female driver to compete in the sport, though she fails to qualify her Brabham in three attempts.

1993 - FISA is abolished, the FIA re-taking direct control of the sport with Mosley remaining as President. With Mansell making an unexpected defection to IndyCar, Prost fills the breach at Williams after a one-year sabbatical and claims a fourth title in consummate style before retiring for good. Riccardo Patrese also retires from the sport as the most experienced driver ever, having broken the existing record in 1989.

1994 - The FIA bans electronic driver aids and simultaneously re-introduces re-fuelling. The third race weekend of the season at Imola proves to be the blackest in the sport's history - Roland Ratzenberger is killed in an accident during qualifying and Senna loses his life early in the race as his Williams strikes an unprotected concrete barrier at high speed. A number of safety measures are consequently introduced, including a pit-lane speed limit. Senna's tragic passing creates a two-horse race for the championship between Benetton's Michael Schumacher and the other Williams driver of Damon Hill - the former comes out on top when the two contentiously collide at the title-decider at Adelaide.

1995 - Maximum engine capacity is reduced from three-and-a-half to three litres. Schumacher, again at the wheel of a Benetton, seals his second title, albeit with a far larger margin over runner-up Hill. Mansell aborts a full-time comeback to the sport after a disastrous two races for McLaren.

1996 - Schumacher switches his allegiance to the beleaguered Ferrari team, paving the way for Hill to emulate the achievements of his father, Graham, and become world champion for Williams. Jacques Villeneuve, IndyCar champion and son of the late Gilles, finishes a close runner-up position in a year of Williams dominance.

1997 - Hill is dropped by Williams in spite of his reigning champion status, setting up a showdown between Schumacher and Villeneuve. In similar style to 1994, The two rivals collide at the finale at Jerez, but this time it's Schumacher's Ferrari that comes off second best to Villeneuve's Williams, gifting the French-Canadian the title.

1998 - The FIA introduces grooved tyres in a bid to reduce speeds. McLaren adapt to the new regulations the best, allowing their driver Mika Hakkinen to take his first title in a close-fought battle with Schumacher.

1999 - With Schumacher removed from the title equation after breaking his leg in a crash at Silverstone, teammate Eddie Irvine steps up to spearhead Ferrari's title assault. However, the Ulsterman falls just short of preventing Hakkinen from taking another title for McLaren. The inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix marks the start of a trend of the F1 calendar featuring fewer races in its European heartland and more in Asia.

The Noughties

2000 - Schumacher finally secures his first championship for Ferrari ahead of Hakkinen and McLaren, ending a wait that stretches back to Jody Scheckter's victory in 1979. The buy-out of the Stewart team by Ford (who re-brand the team as Jaguar) heralds the dawn of a new manufacturer era.

2001 - The ban on traction control, in place since 1994, is lifted as it is decided that it is too difficult for the FIA to police effectively. Schumacher takes another title for Ferrari by a record margin of 58 points, surpassing Alain Prost's record of 51 race wins and equalling his four world titles. Hakkinen opts to take a sabbatical at the end of the year, which later becomes retirement.

2002 - Schumacher and Ferrari dominate even more convincingly than the previous year, the famed Italian squad winning all but two races and racking up the same points tally as all its ten rivals put together. Schumacher takes a record-equalling fifth title with six rounds to spare.

2003 - In the wake of Ferrari hegemony, the points system receives a revamp, with points now awarded down to eighth place in a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 fashion. The championship proves far closer than the last two years, Schumacher breaking Fangio's record of five titles by clinching a sixth by just two points from McLaren's new rising star, Kimi Raikkonen.

2004 - The close competition of 2003 was not to last, as Ferrari returns to its winning ways. Schumacher breaks his own record for most race wins in a season, taking thirteen of a possible seventeen. No-one is able to come close to stopping the German taking an incredible seventh world title.

2005 - A new regulation banning tyre changes stymie Ferrari, and Schumacher claims just one win all year at the fiasco that is the United States Grand Prix - just six cars take to the starting grid after all the Michelin-shod cars withdraw on safety grounds. Fernando Alonso takes his first title for Renault after defeating McLaren and Raikkonen, the French manufacturer having competed as a full works team for the first time since 1985 after buying out the floundering Benetton team in 2002. Red Bull also buys out the struggling Jaguar team.

2006 - Tyre changes are once more permitted, whilst the three-litre V10 engines, mandatory since 2000, give way to 2.4-litre V8s. Alonso and Renault are able to edge out Schumacher and Ferrari to claim the Spaniard's second title, the German opting to retire at the end of the season with an astonishing 91 wins and seven world titles to his name.

2007 - Raikkonen takes an unforeseen championship in his first season with Ferrari as the McLaren team implodes amid an intense rivalry between their drivers, Alonso (who switches from Renault) and the rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton, as well as allegations of espionage. Honda meanwhile become the first team in the modern era to run without commercial sponsorship, instead sporting the ill-received 'earth' livery.

2008 - Traction control is banned for the first time in seven years. McLaren's Hamilton takes the title at his second attempt after a dramatic final lap in which a last-corner overtake allows him to beat Ferrari driver Felipe Massa by a solitary point. Rubens Barrichello deposes Riccardo Patrese to become the sport's most experienced ever driver.

2009 - Slick tyres are re-introduced after a decade-long spell with grooved tyres, whilst KERS makes a low-key debut. The new Brawn team, formed from the ashes of Honda which pulled out at the end of the previous year, unexpectedly fields the car to beat during the first half of the year. This allows Jenson Button to seal a shock maiden title, despite a late challenge from the Red Bull team and their young charge Sebastian Vettel. The exit of BMW, Toyota and Renault (as a majority owner) from the sport signals the end of the manufacturer era, whilst a dispute between the FIA and FOTA is resolved when Mosley agrees to step down as FIA President. He is replaced by former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt.

The 2010s

2010 - Refuelling is banned for the first time since 1993, KERS is temporarily scrapped and the points system goes through its biggest ever overhaul, with points now being awarded down to tenth place on a 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 basis. Vettel and Red Bull come out on top of a tight five-way battle, driver and constructor both securing their first championship from Alonso in his first season for Ferrari. Schumacher also 'un-retires', joining the new Mercedes team which purchases Brawn before the start of the season.

2011 - DRS is introduced and KERS makes its return after a one-year absence, but it's the change of tyre supplier from Bridgestone to Pirelli which changes the make-up of race strategy. Vettel effortlessly defends his title in Schumacher-esque fashion, once again at the wheel of the Red Bull. Barrichello loses his seat at Williams at the end of the year, having racked up an almighty 322 race starts.

2012 - The year starts in dramatic fashion as seven different drivers take victory in the opening seven races of the year as the teams grapple with the loss of the exhaust-blown diffuser and the nuances of the refined Pirelli tyres. Alonso emerges as a comfortable points leader by mid-season, but a late charge from Vettel and Red Bull is just sufficient to make the German the sport's youngest ever triple-champion. Raikkonen returns to the sport after two years of rallying and immediately proves competitive, whilst Schumacher finally calls time on a glittering career spanning 21 years as his comeback with Mercedes fails to meet expectations.

2013 - A real season of two halves: fast-wearing Pirelli tyres, culminating in a flurry of dangerous tyre blowouts at Silverstone, during the first half of the year result in a relatively open contest with four different winners in the first eight races. Then, once the tyres are made more durable, the performance advantage of the Red Bull becomes much greater, allowing Vettel to romp to victory in 10 of the remaining 11 races, including the final nine in succession - equalling Schumacher's record of 13 wins in a season and Ascari's nine wins in a row - and of course a comfortable fourth title.

2014 - Wholesale regulation changes, most notably the introduction of 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid engines, pave the way for Mercedes domination and a two-horse title race between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The latter, to the surprise of many, proves the better qualifier, taking the inaugural 'Pole Trophy' with 11 pole positions to Hamilton's seven, but the Brit is invariably better in wheel-to-wheel combat, withstanding the pressure of a double points finale in Abu Dhabi to seal his second world title in style. Their thrilling battle however is overshadowed by a life-threatening crash for Marussia's Jules Bianchi at Suzuka, as well as a bitter political battle sparked by the sport's two minnow teams, Caterham and Marussia, going into administration before the end of the year.