''GP Racing'', formerly ''F1 Racing'', is a monthly magazine focused on
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, ...
racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
that launched in March 1996.
Launch and development
''F1 Racing'' launch was the culmination of a year of preparation by UK publishers
Haymarket Haymarket may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia
Germany
* Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market)
Russia
* Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...
. The magazine's genesis was inspired by the sport's peak in popularity following the death of
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers fro ...
, and high-profile rivalry between
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
and
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill, (born 17 September 1960) is a British former professional racing driver from England and the 1996 Formula One World Champion. He is the son of Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a Formu ...
. Haymarket's weekly ''
Autosport
''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship.
Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...
'' and ''
Motorsport News
''Motorsport News'' is a British weekly newspaper offering news, reports and analysis of circuit racing, rallying and other forms of motor sport. Its offices are in Richmond in Middlesex.
History
It was first published in 1955 as ''Motoring Ne ...
'' titles supplied a pool of talented writers and their contacts: with the weekly market well served, ''F1 Racing'' would be more feature-based and former ''Autosport'' writer Mike Herd was appointed editor.
Two business decisions in particular made the new title feasible: Haymarket's focus on agreeing annual (rather than monthly or ad-hoc) deals with advertisers, and its publication of a German edition to capitalise upon Schumacher's popularity. A private 'dummy' test issue was produced in November 1995, dubbed 'Issue Zero', before the first issue proper was published to coincide with the beginning of the 1996 season.
Much of the title's growth took place under long-standing editor
Matt Bishop
Matt Bishop (born 25 December 1962) is an English journalist, author, novelist and public relations executive. After leaving the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, Holland Park, in 1981, he failed to qualify as a London bus driver and then worked a ...
, who took over the helm of the title in December 1996. Bishop left both ''F1 Racing'' and ''Autosport'' (for which he wrote an online column) in late 2007 to join McLaren and was replaced as editor of the monthly magazine by the then executive editor Tim Scott, and later by Hans Seeberg. On 9 May 2012 it was announced that Anthony Rowlinson would become the magazine's new editor.
In July 2005, ''F1 Racing'' celebrated its one hundredth issue; it continues to publish in over twenty countries, and claims the title "The World's Best-Selling Grand Prix Magazine". In the one hundred issues,
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
had been cover feature over forty times – more than any other driver – including the first issue in March 1996. In February 2001, a "Michael Schumacher Special Edition" was published.
Many well respected journalists and photographers contribute to the magazine. Such regulars have included journalists
Peter Windsor
Peter David Windsor (born 11 April 1952) is a Formula One journalist, and former Formula One team and sponsorship manager.
Windsor started his journalism career at the now defunct monthly magazine ''Competition Car''. He was the motorsport edi ...
and
Alan Henry
Alan Henry (9 June 1947 – 3 March 2016) was a British Grand Prix reporter and book author.
Career
Henry had been a Grand Prix reporter since the early 1970s. He was the Formula One correspondent of ''The Guardian'' newspaper and until the end o ...
, and renowned photographers
Darren Heath, Steven Tee, Rip (Ripley & Ripley), and Lorenzo Bellanca. Damon Hill was 'Guest Editor' in January 2000, which featured an interview between him and Michael Schumacher. From the March 2006 issue to the February 2007 of ''F1 Racing'',
Max Mosley
Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and ...
, then president of the
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
, had a monthly column in the magazine.
As of 2011 ''F1 Racing'' has been available as a digital download, alongside the print edition.
In 2016, Haymarket sold their motorsport properties to
Motorsport Network
Motorsport Network is an American media and technology company headquartered in Miami, FL and London, UK. The company's proprietary brands, websites and OTT operations focus on motor racing and consumer automotive content serving and presenting ...
, including ''F1 Racing''.
In February 2020 it was announced that the magazine would no longer licence the F1 trademark and that from the March 2020 issue it would be renamed ''GP Racing''. Editor Ben Anderson wrote in his editorial column that because of the cost of the licence, "...it would not have been sustainable for us to continue reporting on Formula 1 in this way without significantly increasing the price of the magazine, reducing the physical quality of the product, or sacrificing its editorial independence."
As of July 2022, Stuart Codling took over as editor.
McLaren 'brake steer' scoop
At the
1997 Austrian Grand Prix
The 1997 Austrian Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Preis von Österreich 1997) was a Formula One motor race held at the A1-Ring on 21 September 1997. It was the fourteenth race of the 1997 Formula One World Championship, and the first Austrian Gra ...
,
Darren Heath, an ''F1 Racing'' photographer, noticed that the rear brakes of the
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
s were glowing red in an acceleration zone of the track. The magazine discovered through investigation that McLaren had installed a second brake pedal, selectable by the driver to act on any one of the rear wheels at the driver's control. This allowed the driver to eliminate
understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Oversteer is what occurs when a car turns (steers) by more than the amount commanded by the driver. Conversely, understeer is what occu ...
and reduce wheelspin when exiting slow corners. This system was entirely legal, but was an innovation, and hence gave McLaren an advantage. While ''F1 Racing'' suspected what
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
were doing, they required proof to publish the story.
At the
1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
The 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Preis von Luxemburg 1997) was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany on 28 September 1997. It was the fifteenth race of the 1997 Formula One World Championship.
Th ...
the two
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
s retired from the race while in first and second positions. This allowed Heath to take a picture of the footwell of
Häkkinen's car and the second brake pedal. The story was run in the November issue of ''F1 Racing'' and led to the system being dubbed "brake steer".
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
's protestations to the FIA led to the system being banned at the
1998 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on 29 March 1998. It was the second race of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. Mika Häkkinen, driving a McLaren- Mercedes, took pole position, set the faste ...
.
International editions
*Australia
*Brazil
*
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
*
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
*China
*
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
(2005–2009)
*
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(2000–2010)
*
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
(1998–2003)
*France
*Germany (1996–2017)
*
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
(2001–2006)
*Hong Kong
*
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
*
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
*
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
(2000–2011, 2012–2014, 2016-2017)
*Italy
*Japan (1999–2002, 2004–2012)
*
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
*Mexico
*
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
*
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
*
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
*
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
*Russia (2004–2006)
*Singapore
*
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
*Spain (1999–2012, 2013–)
*Sweden (−2008)
*
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
*
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
*
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
*United Kingdom
*United States
References
{{Reflist
External links
''GP Racing'' homepageOfficial ''F1 Racing'' forum for Australia and New Zealand
1996 establishments in the United Kingdom
Auto racing magazines
Formula One mass media
Magazines established in 1996
Magazines published in London
Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom
Sports magazines published in the United Kingdom