F1 Racing's launch was the culmination of a year of preparation by UK publishers Haymarket. The magazine's genesis was inspired by the sport's peak in popularity following the death of Ayrton Senna and the high-profile rivalry between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill. Haymarket's weekly Autosport and Motorsport News titles supplied a pool of talented writers and contacts; with the weekly market already well served, F1 Racing would be more feature-based in character. Former Autosport writer Mike Herd was appointed editor.
Two business decisions in particular made the new title commercially viable: Haymarket's focus on agreeing annual rather than monthly or ad-hoc deals with advertisers, and the publication of a German edition to capitalise on Schumacher's popularity. A private dummy test issue — dubbed Issue Zero — was produced in November 1995 before the first issue proper was published to coincide with the beginning of the 1996 season.
Much of the title's growth took place under editor Matt Bishop, who took over in December 1996. F1 Racing continued to publish in over twenty countries and by July 2005, when it celebrated its one hundredth issue, claimed the title of the World's Best-Selling Grand Prix Magazine. In the first hundred issues, Michael Schumacher had appeared on the cover more than forty times — more than any other driver — including the inaugural March 1996 issue. A Michael Schumacher Special Edition was published in February 2001.
Regular contributors over the years included journalists Peter Windsor and Alan Henry, and photographers Darren Heath, Steven Tee, and Lorenzo Bellanca. Damon Hill served as Guest Editor in January 2000, producing an interview between himself and Schumacher. From March 2006 to February 2007, FIA president Max Mosley contributed a monthly column to the magazine.
Bishop left F1 Racing and Autosport in late 2007 to join McLaren. He was replaced as editor by executive editor Tim Scott, and later by Hans Seeberg. On 9 May 2012 Anthony Rowlinson became the magazine's new editor. In 2011 the magazine was made available as a digital download alongside the print edition.
F1 Racing briefly sponsored the ill-fated Mastercard Lola team in 1997. The team failed to qualify for the opening round of that season — the 1997 Australian Grand Prix — with both cars failing to make the 107 percent qualifying time. The team withdrew from the next race in Brazil and from the championship shortly thereafter, ending one of the more unusual commercial partnerships in the magazine's history.
At the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix, photographer Darren Heath noticed that the rear brakes of the McLarens were glowing red in an acceleration zone of the track. F1 Racing investigated and discovered that McLaren had installed a second brake pedal, selectable by the driver to act on either rear wheel. This allowed the driver to eliminate understeer and reduce wheelspin when exiting slow corners. The system was legal, but it was an innovation that gave McLaren a competitive advantage.
Proof for publication came at the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix, where both McLarens retired while running first and second. Heath was able to photograph the footwell of Mika Hakkinen's car, showing the second brake pedal. The story ran in the November issue of F1 Racing and led to the system being labelled brake steer. Following protests from Ferrari, the FIA banned the system at the 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix.
In 2016, Haymarket sold its motorsport properties — including F1 Racing — to Motorsport Network. In February 2020, it was announced that the magazine would no longer licence the F1 trademark, and from the March 2020 issue it was renamed GP Racing. Editor Ben Anderson explained in his editorial that the cost of the licence would have required significantly increasing the cover price, reducing the physical quality of the product, or sacrificing editorial independence.
In late 2024, Autosport and GP Racing merged, and the magazine concluded its run with the December 2024 issue, closing after twenty-eight years.