Motorsport Valley® UK celebrates 70th Anniversary of Formula 1™

Image: © 2020 Motorsport Images

Since the first Formula 1™ (F1) race at Silverstone, over 100 teams have built cars to compete but only 15 won a World Championship and just 9 of these won more than one Championship. While Italy’s Ferrari alone has won 16, UK-based teams have won 40 – quite a record in competitive engineering!

Formula 1 is the only competitive engineering challenge that is showcased to millions around the world every year and this unique challenge is dominated by those from the UK’s Motorsport Valley®.

This level of success has encouraged 7 of the 10 F1 teams to operate from the UK and the Formula 1 Group to base their HQ in London, demonstrating F1’s commitment to British technology and the engineering expertise of this world-class supply chain. 

Motorsport Valley has become the undisputed home for global motorsport business, where some 4,300 specialised companies employ more than 40,000 people generating annual sales turnover of £10 billion. 70% of those export their products and services all over the world wherever motorsport takes place; the USA being the UK’s largest export market.  

This well-earned reputation is not just focused on Formula One but covers all other motorsport from the Indy 500, to World Rally and the Le Mans 24-hour race. 

The creative engineers in this unique supply chain constantly rise to meet new challenges to adapt to new rules and regulations. This consistent success over 70 years is a credit to the ingenuity and innovative minds of those and to the exceptional collaboration between UK motorsport and their international partners and investors. 

Thousands of the world’s best engineering talent has been drawn to join UK motorsport organisations, many of which move onto take up innovative roles within UK automotive carrying over their engineering skills to keep UK automotive ahead of the competition. 

Chris Aylett, Chief Executive of the MIA said:

“We congratulate Formula 1 and the F1 Teams who race this weekend at Silverstone, together with all those that have added to the magnificent 70 years of F1 success. 

We are proud that the global businesses of motorsport chose to be based in the UK’s Motorsport Valley. We all do our best to cherish and grow our engineering expertise so Formula 1 can enter the next 70 years confident of a strong home base here in the UK”.

For more information please contact info@the-mia.com or call +44 (0)2476 692 600.