Formula One

Thrilling and addictive, Formula One is among the world's most popular sports. Over eight million viewers in the UK alone watch it on television during Grand Prix weekends. Behind the sport is an intensely secretive industry, which invests millions of pounds in design and technology every year. For the first time the public will be able to discover the design innovations at the heart of Formula One.

Formula One - The Great Design Race will trace the history of the sport since it began in the 1950s, one of the great design stories of our time. Featuring an iconic car from each decade - including the Lotus 79, in which Andretti won the 1978 Drivers' Championship and Lotus won the Constructors' title demonstrating the potential of ground-effect aerodynamics, and the 1988 MP4/4-2 driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, which won 15 out of 16 races for McLaren – the exhibition will also include an 'exploded' car which will deconstruct the design and development of the different parts. A series of design stories will explain the aerodynamics of the chassis and cockpit; the power generated by the engine, gearbox and fuel; and the advances in suspension, brakes and tyres which determine the drivers' ability to control their cars at extraordinarily high speed and often perilous conditions.

As well as focusing on the history and technology of the sport, the Design Museum will present a year in the life of Formula One, with a behind the scenes look at the excitement, complexity and logistics that enable a team to compete throughout a season. Each race team will be represented, including Ferrari, Honda, McLaren, Red Bull, Renault, Toyota and Williams, as well as iconic cars from the Donington Grand Prix Collection. The exhibition will close with a look towards the future in which key industry figures give their predictions for the future of Formula One design and technology.