In the last 60 years, Formula One evolved from a sports competition to a billion dollar business. Teams run by car manufacturers dominated Formula One in its beginnings but it all changed during the 1970s, when team managers made some significant business decisions.

You can find interesting information about the history of Formula One on any betting expert blog. But here are a few facts and figures which had a big impact on Formula One as a major industry involving billion dollars.

A man named Bernie Ecclestone purchased the Brabham team in 1971 and this transaction gained him a seat on the Formula One Constructors Association. Further on, in 1978, Ecclestone became the president of the association.
His impact on the evolution of Formula One was tremendous as he completely changed the way Formula One's commercial rights were managed.

Bernie Ecclestone deserves credit for offering Formula One as a sort of a sales package to circuit owners and they could take the offer or turn it down. Previously, Formula One teams were controlled by the circuit owners who negotiated with the teams individually and even controlled their income. The price almost all circuit owners had to pay for this package was to surrender trackside advertising. This was the beginning of big money flowing into Formula One business.

Car credit companies, tobacco companies, and oil companies among various other corporate sponsors began spending millions of pounds to have their names and logos on the cars and alongside the race track. This is how Formula One sponsorship was born.

All these changes have also had a significant and positive impact on Formula One drivers, the main players in this competition. According to various information I have recently found on a betting expert blog, Michael Schumacher, the best known Formula One driver and a living legend of this competition, has become the third highest paid athlete in the world as he is reported to have earned around 39 million euros in 2011 alone.

Bernie Ecclestone had confirmed his reputation as a great manager and innovator in the Formula One industry. Ecclestone has always been looking for new solutions to bring more money into this competition. In the last decade, he has organized a number of races in new countries, helping to expand Formula One into new areas of the globe as well as attract new teams and drivers into this business.

Where I found ?

Podiums in 1981