How the cocktail for F1's superteams became outdated

By:

Matt Kew

Dec 13, 2020, 4:02 PM

Williams and McLaren won all but three Formula 1 constructors' titles between 1980 and 1998. But as two of their designers explain, what made those teams so successful no longer passes muster in modern F1

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Since Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks spearheaded Vanwall's charge to the inaugural Formula 1 constructors' crown of 1958, the badges of just 14 other teams have been affixed to the trophy. Ferrari (16), Williams (nine), McLaren (eight), Lotus (seven), Mercedes (seven) and Red Bull (four) account for some 51 of the 63 titles. Like it or loathe it, grand prix racing is a breeding ground for one-team supremacy. Seemingly, one unstoppable force is only usurped by the next. What is it then that creates these 'superteams'?

Once such 'superteam' was Williams, which enjoyed a meteoric rise from the ashes of the hand-to-mouth Frank Williams Racing Cars and then Wolf-Williams efforts to become the most potent squad of the early 1980s.

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Matt Kew

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Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.