The British Formula One Championship, often abbreviated to British F1, was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

championship held in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was often referred to as the Aurora AFX Formula One series due to the

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

company's sponsorship of the series for three of the four seasons. The long established

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

engine helped make the series possible between 1978 and 1980. As in the

South African Formula One Championship The South African Formula One Championship, was a Formula One motor racing championship held in South Africa between 1960 and 1975, including races in Rhodesia and Portuguese Mozambique. The front-running cars in the series were recently retire ...

a decade or so before, second hand cars from manufacturers like Lotus and

Fittipaldi Automotive Fittipaldi Automotive, sometimes called Copersucar after its first major sponsor, was a Formula One racing team and constructor that competed from to . It was the only Formula One team to have been based in Brazil. The team was formed during 19 ...

were run by many entrants, although some, such as the March 781, were built specifically for the series. In 1980

Desiré Wilson Desiré Randall Wilson (born 26 November 1953) is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One. Born in Brakpan, she entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non ...

became the only woman to win a Formula One race. She won at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

driving a

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

Origins

The British Formula One Championship was a successor to the older Group 8 Shellsport Championship, which had previously run for

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

cars. In 1977 the series was opened up to allow Formula One cars to race and the

BRSCC The British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) is one of the major organisers of motorsport events in the United Kingdom. The club currently runs around forty track racing championships for cars as diverse as Caterham, BMWs and Mazda. Formed in B ...

upgraded it to a full Formula One championship a year later.

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

cars were also present on the grid to make up the numbers.

Champions

^† x/y: Competed in x races of the season total y.

References

External links

GEL Motorsport Information Page: The Formula One Archives
1978 establishments in the United Kingdom 1982 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{motorsport-stub