Editing Formula One (section)

=== Technological developments ===
[[File:MossLotusClimax19610806.jpg|thumb|right|[[Stirling Moss]]'s [[Lotus 18]] at the [[Nürburgring]] during {{F1|1961}}]]

The first major technological development in the sport was [[Bugatti]]'s introduction of [[mid-engined]] cars. [[Jack Brabham]], the world champion in {{F1|1959}}, {{F1|1960}}, and {{F1|1966}}, soon proved the mid-engine's superiority over all other engine positions. By {{F1|1961}} all teams had switched to mid-engined cars. The [[Ferguson P99]], a [[four-wheel drive]] design, was the last front-engined Formula One car to enter a world championship race. It entered the [[1961 British Grand Prix]], the only front-engined car to compete that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpracing.net192.com/cars/data/186.cfm|title=Ferguson P99|access-date =17 November 2007|publisher=gpracing.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330231253/http://www.gpracing.net192.com/cars/data/186.cfm|archive-date=30 March 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During {{F1|1962}}, [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] introduced a car with an aluminium-sheet [[monocoque]] chassis instead of the traditional [[space-frame]] design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars.

In {{F1|1968}}, [[Formula One sponsorship liveries|sponsorship was introduced to the sport]]. [[Team Gunston]] became the first team to run cigarette sponsorship on its [[Brabham]] cars, which [[Privateer (motorsport)|privately entered]] in orange, brown and gold colours of [[Gunston (cigarette)|Gunston]] cigarettes in the [[1968 South African Grand Prix]] on 1&nbsp;January 1968.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/09/18/behind.sponsorship/index.html |title=Sponsorship, the big business behind F1 |access-date=8 November 2007 |last=Bartunek |first=Robert-Jan |date=18 September 2007 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=22 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222045715/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/09/18/behind.sponsorship/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Five months later, the first [[Factory-backed|works team]], Lotus, initially using the [[British racing green]], followed this example when it entered [[Lotus 49|its cars]] painted in the red, gold, and white colours of the [[Imperial Tobacco]]'s Gold Leaf livery at the [[1968 Spanish Grand Prix]].

Aerodynamic [[downforce]] slowly gained importance in car design with the appearance of [[aerofoil]]s during the 1968 season. The wings were introduced by Lotus's owner [[Colin Chapman]] who installed modest front wings and a rear spoiler on his [[Lotus 49B]] at the [[1968 Monaco Grand Prix]]. In the late 1970s, Lotus introduced [[Ground effect (cars)|ground-effect]] aerodynamics, previously used on [[Jim Hall (racing driver)|Jim Hall]]'s [[Chaparral 2J]] in 1970, that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds. The aerodynamic forces pressing the cars to the track were up to five times the car's weight. As a result, extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant [[ride height]], leaving the suspension virtually solid. This meant that the drivers depended entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities of the road surface.<ref>{{cite book |last=Staniforth |first=Allan |title=Competition Car Suspension |publisher=Haynes |year=1994 |page=96|isbn=978-0-85429-956-0}}</ref>