1983-1988 The Turbo Era
1983 – Turbo champion
1984 – The closest title ever
1985 – Prost first at last
1986 – Mansell denied
1987 – War of the Williams
1988 – McLaren’s zenith
Formula One engine output peaked at 1400bhp in the 1980s with monstrously powerful 1.5 litre V6 units supplied by major car manufacturers such as BMW, Porsche and Honda.
The FIA tried repeatedly to limit turbo power before banning them outright. Four different drivers took titles with turbo power. In 1986, four drivers from three teams chased for the championship, but by the final turbo year McLaren-Honda were utterly dominant.
1989-1993 Senna vs Prost
1989 – The greatest rivalry
1990 – Senna’s revenge
1991 – Prost walks away
1992 – Mansell writes new records
1993 – Prost the champion, Senna the hero
Turbos were finally banned but McLaren due Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost remained the team to beat.
After a tense 1988 their internecine rivalry became all-out war, culminating in two title-deciding crashes involving the pair. Prost was dropped by Ferrari but returned to edge Mansell out of the dominant Williams at the end of 1992, and took a final title before retiring for good at the end of 1993.
1994-1999 The Rise of Schumacher
1994 – Tragedy and controversy
1995 – Glimpses of greatness
1996 – Hill’s reward
1997 – Michael’s moment of madness
1998 – Regulation revolution
1999 – Last man standing
Mansell and Prost gone, the 1994 title looked like Senna’s for the taking.
But he was killed during a horrific weekend in Imola which also claims the life of Roland Ratzenberger. The rest of the 1990s was characterised by repeated attempts to slow the cars on grounds of safety, and the inexorable rise of Schumacher to claim two titles at Benetton, before being denied on three occasions at Ferrari.
2000-2004 Ferrari Domination
2000 – Hakkinen vanquished
2001 – The new generation arrives
2002 – Ferrari’s tainted perfection
2003 – Michelin denied
2004 – Bridgestone’s year
Ferrari finally took their first World Drivers’ Championship title since 1979 at the turn of the millennium, heralding a new era of the longest domination of the sport by a single team.
Rules changes became more frequent and more drastic, now with the twin aims of improving the racing as well as improving safety. The extent of their success has been the subject of intense debate by the sport’s followers.
2005-present
2005 – The fast and the fragile
2006 – Alonso versus Schumacher
2007 – The courtroom championship
