Australian Formula 1
Encyclopedia
AF1 was introduced by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport
Confederation of Australian Motor Sport
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport , has been the governing body of Australian motorsport since 1953. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile ....
in 1970, initially restricting cars to unsupercharged engines of no greater than 2.5-litre capacity, running on commercial fuel. AF1 was essentially a new name for the Australian National Formula
Australian National Formula
The Australian National Formula was an Australian motor racing category which was introduced by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in 1964 and remained current until the end of 1969...
which had been Australia’s premier racing category from 1964 to 1969.
Effective 23 February 1971, AF1 was changed to a two part formula catering for racing cars fitted with 5.0-litre production based pushrod V8 engines (internationally known as Formula 5000
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
cars) and those fitted with less restricted unsupercharged engines of eight cylinders or less and up to 2000 cc in capacity. The smaller engine option was discontinued after 1976.
In March 1979 Formula Pacific
Formula Pacific
Formula Pacific was a motor racing category which was utilised in the Pacific Basin area from 1977 to 1982. It specified a single-seat, open-wheeler chassis powered by a production-based four-cylinder engine of under 1600cc capacity. The formula was based on Formula Atlantic, with provision made...
cars (using 1.6-litre production-based four-cylinder engines) became eligible for Australian Formula 1 alongside the existing 5.0-litre cars and 1980 saw the addition of 3.0-litre FIA Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
cars to the mix. For 1982, Australian Formula 1 was restricted to Formula Pacific cars only. In 1983 CAMS adopted Formula Mondial
Formula Mondial
Formula Mondial was an international motor racing category which was introduced to replace both Formula Atlantic and the similar Formula Pacific in 1983....
as the new Australian Formula 1 but allowed cars complying with Formula Pacific to compete alongside the new cars for that year. (Formula Mondial was an FIA approved international formula very similar to Formula Pacific but with cars restricted to using the 1.6-litre Ford Cosworth BDA
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
four-cylinder engine.) For 1984 CAMS changed the category name from “Australian Formula 1” to “Formula Mondial”.
The Australian Drivers' Championship
Australian Drivers' Championship
The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula...
(for the CAMS Gold Star award) was open to drivers of AF1 cars throughout the life of the formula, i.e. from 1970 to 1983. During those years the term Australian Formula 1 Championship was often used in lieu of Australian Drivers Championship however the latter is used by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport in its official records of the championship.
The Australian Grand Prix
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...
was contested by AF1 cars during the years 1970 to 1983 inclusive although the 1970 event also permitted Formula 5000
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars that no longer fit into any particular formula...
cars and the 1981 race was restricted to cars complying with the Formula Pacific section of AF1.