Astyrian Formula One

Astyrian Formula One

Category	Open-wheel single-seater Formula auto racing
Region	Astyria
Inaugural season	1960
Drivers	24
Teams	12
Constructors	12
Engine suppliers	Breuer FMK Phaeton Sidus
Tyre suppliers	Roncalli
Drivers' champion	Lauren Blake
Teams' champion	Raamaker
Official website	astyf1.com

The Astyrian Formula One Championship (also known as Astyrian Formula One or as AstyF1) is an international motor racing series that takes place in Astyria. It is the highest class of single-seater open-wheel auto racing sanctioned by the Astyrian Motorsport Federation. A Formula One season consists of races known as grands prix, which are held on specially-built circuits and on public roads.

History

Early History

The origins of Astyrian Formula One come from the creation of grand prix motor racing, which started taking place in various Astyrian nations in the 1920s and 1930s. These races eventually paved the way for the creation of formula racing, which comprise of a set of rules that all participants must meet in order to compete. Grand prix motor racing had a hiatus upon the outbreak of the 2nd Great Astyrian War, but returned soon after.

With the growing popularity of grand prix motor racing across Astyria, as well as other forms of motorsport, there was a growing need for a governing body to set the rules for Astyria-wide racing events. Thus, the Astyrian Motorsport Federation was founded in 1947. The first Grand Prix Racing Drivers' Championship was formalized in 1949, and the first Astyria-wide grand prix race took place at Sherbourne Circuit in Aswick in 1950.

At this time, formula racing events were scattered and disorganized, with rules and regulations for events varying from country to country. To solve this, the AMF began outlining a united set of rules and regulations for cars, teams, venues, and drivers that would apply throughout the entire racing calendar. These set of rules were formalized as Formula One in 1960, with the first race of the 1960 season taking place in Sherbourne. That same year, the Constructors' Championship was formalized, and was awarded to constructors who earned the most points throughout the season.

Aswickan domination

The 1960 season immediately broke ground in motorsport innovation. Foster introduced the mid-engined layout to the sport, allowing the team to win the very first Constructors' Championship. The design proved so successful that by the following season, every other constructor made the switch to mid-engined cars. Further technological innovation came about when Orchid introduced monocoque chassis construction in 1963, which was more superior to space frames. Sam Carter would drive the Orchid Type 28 to victory that same year.

Orchid would continue to thrive in this time, winning the 1965 and 1967 seasons. They then famously won the 1968 season by sporting sponsorship liveries on their cars, opening the floodgates for corporate sponsors. That same year they introduced front and rear wings in that year's Aquitaynian Grand Prix, introducing aerodynamics to F1.

Mallard era

In 1968, the Mallard FVC made its introduction to Formula One competition. Mallard developed the V8 engine in collaboration with Winthrop, and it was the engine Orchid used to win the 1968 Constructors' Championship. From then on, other companies would buy the new engine - it was light, compact, reliable, and relatively cheaper than other engines at the time. The FVC would become the standard F1 powerplant for most constructors throughout the 1970s, propelling many newcomers to victory. Newcomer Tyroll won the 1971 and 1973 on the back of the Mallard engine, and MacGregor followed soon after in 1974.

Phaeton was the only company to resist the change, instead developing a flat-12 engine of their own design. With it they won the Constructors' Championship from 1975 to 1977. Yet Mallard engines remained the engine of choice for the decade until the introduction of turbocharged engines in 1981.

Meanwhile, constructors regularly came up with various technological innovations to squeeze more speed out of their cars. Wedge-shaped cars, larger front and rear wings, and wider tires began to proliferate in the mid-1970s. Orchid would lead much of this progress, introducing torsion beam suspension, hip-mounted radiators, and splitters in their cars. Other more outlandish innovations included Tyroll's six-wheeled T60 that raced in the 1976 and 1977 seasons.

Around this same time, the Astyrian Formula One Association (AFOA) was formed in 1975 for increasing the commercial organization of F1 for the benefit of the constructors. Previously, individual teams would negotiate for better licensing fees and sponsorships, but the AFOA allowed for the constructors to collectively negotiate in favor of their commercial interests.

Ground effect era and turbocharging

In 1977, Orchid debuted the Type 100, a car that utilized ground effect to its advantage. Featuring sidepods that were sealed with plastic sideskirts, the car's underbody was shaped like an inverted aerofoil, which generated huge amounts of downforce without the use of wings. A more refined version of the ground effect concept was seen in the Type 101, which carried Orchid to the Constructors' Title in 1978. Not to be outdone, MSDT debuted the MS35B, a car that used a giant fan to suck air out of the underside of the car to generate downforce. The fan car was immediately banned by the AMF in 1979, though the car itself was withdrawn after only one race. Ground effect cars would continue to race in F1 until 1982 when fatal crashes forced the AMF to mandate that cars must have flat underbodies.

Meanwhile, Raamaker made history by entering F1 with a turbocharged car in 1977. While they have had teething problems in the early years, the turbocharged engine quickly proved to match the Mallard FVC in power output, allowing Raamaker to take some victories in the early 1980s. This convinced other manufacturer teams like Phaeton and Angelbridge to make the switch to turbocharging, while smaller teams preferred to stick with aerodynamic innovations. The ground effect ban would ultimately force those teams to adopt turbocharged engines, as they became essential to being competitive.

On track, MacGregor and Delaney dominated much of the 1980s, with some of F1's best drivers racing each other in this era. Both teams clenched the championships with Sidus engines, which were the most powerful powertrains on the field during that time. Drivers Richard Millinghouse and Clayton Norris won several victories, cementing MacGregor's dominance and winning the team the 1984, 1985, and 1988 seasons. However, new restrictions in output in 1987 that favored naturally-aspirated engines and later a total ban in 1989 quickly put an end to turbocharged engines, which would not return until 2013.

Naturally-aspirated engines and electronic innovations

Despite the ban on turbocharged engines, MacGregor-Sidus would continue to dominate during this time, winning the 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994 seasons. Sidus' V10 and V12 engines proved to be just as powerful and reliable as their turbocharged predecessor, and they powered MacGregor to track domination at the turn of the 1990s. Most of these wins were achieved through the efforts of Clayton Norris, who won five Drivers' Championships over the course of his career, cementing him as one of the greatest drivers of all time. However, Norris' talents appeared to be threatened by a resurgent Delaney, who switched to Sorsa powertrains that matched Sidus in output, and utilized more refined aerodynamics.

Electronic aids would proliferate very quickly throughout F1 teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Orchid introduced active suspension in 1988, Phaeton followed with sequential gearboxes in 1990, and Delaney pioneered traction control in 1991. These technologies enabled Millinghouse, who moved to Delaney after falling out with Norris, to win his fourth Drivers' Championship in 1991 before duly retiring from the sport. MacGregor would quickly respond, and Norris would take the 1992, 1993, and 1994 Drivers' Titles. However, complaints that these new technologies would decide races more than the drivers' skill eventually compelled the AMF to ban many of these driver aids in 1996.

These recent bans came at an inopportune time for Norris, who transferred to Delaney in 1996. He would struggle to win victories with the RD18, and Raamaker's Augustus Tertullius would take the 1996 Drivers' Title. Norris was determined to rebound in 1997, but he lost his life in a major accident at the Blackhelm Confederate Grand Prix. This sudden shock caused the AMF to swiftly enact major changes to reduce the average speeds of F1 cars, which before Norris' death had risen significantly throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Return of manufacturer dominance

The costs of operating an F1 team rose dramatically throughout the 1990s, forcing many privateer teams out of the sport. This presented the opportunity for various car manufacturers to enter F1. Eloranta joined the sport in 1993, LZS in 1997, Urbina in 1998, Sorsa in 2002, and FMK in 2004. However, these new teams were swept aside by Phaeton's dominance with Augustus Tertullius in the early 2000s. Tertullius would go on to set many new records with Phaeton, including the most Drivers' Championships of any racer in Astyrian F1.

The AMF enacted more regulations to even the playing field in 2005: most notably a $200 million budget cap to rein in operating costs, as well as a ban on team orders. This budget cap has been reduced every year since then until 2014. Since 2013, the Constructor's Championship has frequently changed hands, and has never gone to the same team twice in a row.

In a commitment to promote more efficient and environmentally friendly cars, as well as to conform with recent budget reductions, the AMF mandated that constructors switch from V10 to V8 engines in 2006. These were in turn phased out for turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrains in 2014. Major innovations during this time included the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) used on all F1 cars since 2010, and the Drag Reduction System (DRS) used since 2011.

More factory teams would join throughout the rest of the 2000s and 2010s - Sidus and Orchid rejoined in 2006 as works teams after many years of absence, Angelbridge debuted their first F1 car in decades for the 2007 season, LZS returned in 2010, and Breuer and Sevir made their debuts in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

Constructors

All constructor teams are required to manufacture their own chassis in order to compete. Works teams are constructors that are owned and staffed by a major car company, such as LZS, Phaeton, or Raamaker. Such teams have made a comeback since the early 1990s and have dominated ever since. They also make up the top competitive teams on the grid as of the present day.

If the chassis and engine are made by different entities, the constructor comprises both teams (Ex. Angelbridge-Phaeton, MacGregor-Sidus, Raamaker-FMK), with the chassis constructor's name placed before that of the engine constructor.

The Astyrian F1 Constructors' Championship is awarded to the constructor that has gained the highest number of points throughout the season. The current rules state that the points earned by both cars entered by each constructor are added to the championship total.

Constructors have an upper cost limit that restricts how much each may spend on their budget to stay competitive. The first such cost cap was set at $200 million in 2005; since then, this was reduced by $10 million every season until 2010. Starting from 2011, it was reduced by $5 million until 2013. However, the 2014 technical regulations have set the current budget cap at $125 million, with a new potential cap to be reviewed for the 2021 regulations.

Due to the high cost of entering a team into F1, a constructor desiring to compete often purchases an existing team. However, this cost was significantly reduced for the 2021 AMF regulations, which will make new constructor entries easier.

Current Constructors

Correct as of the 2022 Astyrian Formula One Championship.

Constructor	Engine	Licensed in	Based in	Seasons	Antecedent teams
AMZ	AMZ	Slovertia	Slovertia	2021-present
Angelbridge	Phaeton	Blackhelm Confederacy	Blackhelm Confederacy	2008-present	Orchid (2006-2007)
Breuer	Breuer	Nidwalden	Aswick	2013-present	Garland (1986-2010) Skaterham (2011-2012)
Delaney	Sidus	Aswick	Aswick	1976-present
Kappaksturslid	Breuer	Nynorsk Ostlijord	Nynorsk Ostlijord	2005-present
LZS	FMK	Nikolia	Nikolia	1995-2003, 2009-present	MSDT (1962-1994) FMK (2004-2008)
MacGregor	Sidus	Aswick	Aswick	1970-present
Phaeton	Phaeton	Blackhelm Confederacy	Blackhelm Confederacy	1960-present
Raamaker	FMK	Noordenstaat	Noordenstaat	1976-1986, 1991-present
Sevir	FMK	Khyragus	Aswick	2016-present	Juhola (2003-2015)
Sidus	Sidus	Valkea	Valkea Aswick	1966-1973, 2006-present	Fullerton (1987-2005)
Urbina	Urbina	ViZion	Aswick	2022-present	Ellsworth (1969-2004) Dart (2005-2008) Minor (2009-2012) Wyvern (2013) Merlin (2014-2021)

Drivers

Each team in Formula One is required to run two cars in every session during a Grand Prix weekend, and they are allowed to run up to four drivers every season, plus two more drivers in free practice sessions. Drivers are contracted to compete for the team for the duration of the season, with driver changes taking places in between seasons. In order to compete in a Grand Prix, the driver must hold an AMF Super Licence, which is issued to those who have met the criteria in lower motorsport categories.

Each driver chooses an unassigned number between 2 and 99 upon joining F1, and races under that number during his time in the series. The number 1 car is reserved for the reigning champion, although he can choose to forego it for his previous number. If a driver stops competing in F1 and doesn't compete for three seasons, his number will no longer be assigned to him. If a driver dies during the season, his number is retired from active competition. The team under which the deceased driver raced on has priority over other teams should they decide to reuse the number; an example of this was MacGregor, who reused No. 24 for driver Conway Prescott in 2015 - a number that previously belonged to Clayton Norris.

Feeder series

Most drivers in Formula One start their careers in karting competitions, and then work their way up through the various junior motorsports series, eventually competing in Formula Three and finally Formula Two. Note that drivers aren't required to compete in Formula Two before entering Formula One.

Other drivers have entered Formula One graduated from national racing series such as the Valkean Open Wheel Series and Formula ViZion, as well as in single-make formula racing series such as Formula Winthrop and Formula Raamaker.

Grands Prix

On its inaugurual season in 1960, there were ten races, while the 2021 Astyrian Formula One season has twenty-one races. There were also many non-championship events that were held in the 1960s and 1970s, though these have fallen out of use in 1981.

Each nation generally hosts a single Grand Prix, which bears the name of the host country. The racetrack they're hosted on must conform to AMF Grade 1 specifications for safety purposes. If a country plays host to multiple Grands Prix, they may receive different names, generally corresponding to the region the race location is in. Starting from 1984, the AMF has included the Astyrian Grand Prix in its season calendars, with certain countries getting its turn to host it via rotation.

Grands Prix may switch locations due to the suitability of the track or the financial status of the race organizers. An example of this is the Valkean Grand Prix, which has alternated between Vestola Circuit and Rintalinna International Circuit since 2004. Other Grands Prix have been discontinued temporarily due to renovations or security concerns. The Confederate Grand Prix appeared in 1997 and didn't reappear on the calendar until 2005, after a combination of track renovations after Clayton Norris' death and the tense geopolitical situation in the then-nascent Blackhelm Confederacy delayed its reintroduction to the season calendar.

See also

• List of Astyrian Formula One Constructors' Champions
• List of Astyrian Formula One Drivers' Champions