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[|Formula One cars] race at high speeds, up to 360 km/h (220 mph) with engines revving up to a formula imposed limit of 18,000 [|RPM]. The cars are capable of pulling in excess of 5 [|g-forces] in some curves. The performance of the cars is highly dependent on [|electronics] (although [|traction control] and driving aids have been banned since 2007), [|aerodynamics], [|suspension] and on [|tyres]. The formula has seen many evolutions and changes through the history of the sport. [|Europe] is Formula One's traditional centre, where all of the teams are based, and where around half of the races take place. However, the sport's scope has expanded significantly in recent years and Grands Prix are held all over the world. Events in Europe and the Americas have been dropped in favour of races in [|Asia] and the [|Middle East] - of the eighteen races in 2008, nine were held outside Europe.
 * Formula One**, also known as **Formula 1** or **F1**, and currently officially referred to as the **FIA Formula One World Championship**,[|[2]] is the highest class of [|auto racing] sanctioned by the [|Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile] (FIA). The "[|formula]" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must comply.[|[3]] The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as [|Grands Prix], held on purpose-built [|circuits], and to a lesser extent, former public roads and closed city streets. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual World Championships, one for the [|drivers] and one for the [|constructors], with racing drivers, constructor teams, track officials, organizers and circuits required to be holders of valid [|Super Licences],[|[4]] the highest class racing licence issued by the FIA.[|[5]]

The first Formula One World Championship was won by [|Italian] [|Giuseppe Farina] in his [|Alfa Romeo] in [|1950], barely defeating his [|Argentine] teammate [|Juan Manuel Fangio]. However Fangio won the title in [|1951], [|1954], [|1955], [|1956] & [|1957] (His record of five World Championship titles stood for 45 years until German driver [|Michael Schumacher] took his sixth title in 2003), his streak interrupted after an injury by two-time champion [|Alberto Ascari] of [|Ferrari]. Although the UK's [|Stirling Moss] was able to compete regularly, he was never able to win the World Championship, and is now widely considered to be the greatest driver never to have won the title. Fangio, however, is remembered for dominating Formula One's first decade and has long been considered the "grand master" of Formula One. The period was dominated by teams run by road car manufacturers—Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, [|Mercedes Benz] and [|Maserati] - all of whom had competed before the war. The first seasons were run using pre-war cars like Alfa's [|158]. They were [|front engined], with narrow treaded tyres and 1.5 litre supercharged or 4.5 litre normally aspirated engines. The [|1952] and [|1953] world championships were run to [|Formula Two] regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over the number of Formula One cars available. When a new Formula One, for engines limited to 2.5 litres, was reinstated to the world championship in 1954, Mercedes-Benz introduced the advanced [|W196], which featured innovations such as [|desmodromic valves] and [|fuel injection] as well as enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes won the drivers championship for two years, before withdrawing from all motorsport in the wake of the [|1955 Le Mans disaster].

[|Michael Schumacher] and Ferrari won an unprecedented five consecutive drivers’ championships and six consecutive constructors’ championships between 1999 and 2004. Schumacher set many new records, including those for Grand Prix wins (91), wins in a season (13 of 18), and most drivers' championships (7).[|[27]] Schumacher's championship streak ended on September 25, 2005 when Renault driver [|Fernando Alonso] became Formula One’s youngest champion at that time. In 2006, Renault and Alonso won both titles again. Schumacher retired at the end of 2006 after sixteen years in Formula One. During this period the championship rules were frequently changed by the FIA with the intention of improving the on-track action and cutting costs.[|[28]] [|Team orders], legal since the championship started in 1950, were banned in 2002 after several incidents in which teams openly manipulated race results, generating negative publicity, most famously by Ferrari at the [|2002 Austrian Grand Prix]. Other changes included the qualifying format, the points scoring system, the technical regulations and rules specifying how long engines and tyres must last. A 'tyre war' between suppliers [|Michelin] and [|Bridgestone] saw lap times fall, although at the [|2005 United States Grand Prix] at Indianapolis seven out of ten teams did not race when their Michelin tyres were deemed unsafe for use. During 2006, Max Mosley outlined a ‘green’ future for Formula One, in which efficient use of energy would become an important factor.[|[29]] And the tyre war ended, as Bridgestone became the sole tyre supplier to Formula One for the 2007 season.