Three Eras. Three Icons. The F1 Cars That Changed What it Means to be Fast

1961: When a Ferrari F2 car became an F1 icon

Cars from the first years of F1 look quite a bit different than the machines we are used to seeing on track today. Without any front or rear wings, side pods, floor tunneling and so on, these machines relied almost entirely on sleek, cylindrical designs and good engines to make it to the finish line. Yet among the cars of these earliest eras, the one that stands out the most for its design is the 1961 Ferrari 156, otherwise known as The Sharknose. 

The noteworthy name comes from the car’s front end, featuring a thin and pointed nose cone with two air intakes at an angle that quite literally made it look like a shark. This shape also gave the Sharknose an aerodynamic edge over the rest of the field. The design was taken almost entirely from the Ferrari 156 F2 car which also happened to run a 1.5L V6 engine, fitting the new engine requirements introduced into the sport that year. While other teams struggled to adapt their cars from the previous 2.5L requirements, Ferrari came ready with both the design and the power to steam ahead of the field.

And that is exactly what they did, winning five out of the eight Grands Prix held that year. Three of those wins came at the hands of Phil Hill, who also claimed the Drivers’ Championship (thus becoming the first American ever to do so). The other two were by Wolfgang Von Trips and Giancarlo Baghetti. Altogether, Ferrari put together an incredible performance that year that not only earned them the Constructors’ Title, but also cemented the Sharknose in F1 history.

‍

1996: Adrian Newey’s aerodynamic advancements

With the front cone of the Sharknose and introduction of the front and rear wing in 1968, the impact of aerodynamics was, quite literally, starting to shape the way that F1 cars looked and worked. When it comes to the aerodynamics of F1 cars, one man has made an indelible mark on what excellence in motorsport design looks like: Adrian Newey. He is the mastermind behind no less than 14 World Drivers' Championship and 12 World Constructors' Championship-winning cars. Among them is the 1996 Williams FW18, driven by Damon Hill.

Highlighted at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the FW18 truly is a standout F1 car. One of Newey’s defining features of this design was the position of the driver. To accommodate the driver safety regulations that had been introduced that year by the FIA, Newey shifted the position of the driver’s seat, putting it lower down into the cockpit. This simultaneously shifted the car’s center of gravity down as well, making the whole car significantly easier for the driver to control with precision. In fact, this placement of the seat has become the standard of the sport and is still used to this day.

Newey’s incredible grasp of aerodynamics, in combination with the extremely powerful 3.0 L Renault RS8 V10 engine, made the FW18 the most powerful car of the year. Hill and his teammate, rookie Jacques Villeneuve, won a staggering 12 of 16 races that year to give Williams the Constructors’ Championship. With eight of those wins to his name, Hill secured that year’s Drivers’ Title.

‍

2025: How McLaren perfected the modern F1 car

Modern F1 cars may look closer to that of the 1996 FW18 than the 1961 Sharknose, but the reality is that they are completely different. In the most recent ground effect era, aerodynamics played a bigger role than ever, with complex wing designs, bodywork, floor tunnels and more all designed to create the grip that these cars need in corners and to reach their maximum speeds in the straights. And in the last two seasons, McLaren showed their ability to balance these aspects leaving the rest of the grid in the dust.

In 2025, McLaren unveiled their challenger for the year, the MCL39. This was a car built upon the foundation set by the previous year’s MCL38, which became the fastest car of the field over the course of several updates including a massive one to its floor, front wing and rear suspension during the 2024 Miami Grand Prix. Yet the MCL38 still had its weaknesses, particularly when it came to straightline speed and slow-speed corners. The MCL39 addressed these weaknesses with changes to the front suspension, as well as updates to the front wing and several other components throughout the year, making it an unstoppable car. 

McLaren secured the 2025 Constructors’ Championship during the Singapore Grand Prix, with six races to spare. The Drivers’ Championship was a bit more of a challenge, however, particularly with how good this car was in combination with the drivers in the seat. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri looked poised to take the Title at different points of the season, but it ultimately fell to Norris during the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.

‍