Why so Many People Care About Formula One (and How You Can Too)

Race weekend is coming…and when it comes to Formula 1, the world motorsport league, racing takes place almost half of the weekends of the year. A traveling group of racers, engineers, mechanics and other team members come together to take on some of the coolest and fastest race cars from around the world.

I’d be lying if I said that the last few seasons of the sports-focused Netflix show Drive to Survive were the sole reason for my own foray into the F1 fandom – motorsports became cool for me after I found out about the Targa Florio . one of the oldest and most famous car races of the last century. Racing through my family’s native Sicily, turning the entire island into a race track, car teams like Alfa Romeo and Ferrari started their careers and became famous before speeds topped 30 mph.

But it was the tea, the rivalry, and the drama of a Netflix racing blockbuster that took me out of my realm of interest and into an obsessive fandom. Now I watch recordings of team training and try to follow the races live, cheering for my favorites. This is the power of storytelling, and thanks to the development of reality television and billions of dollars of investment , Formula 1 has become the fastest growing sport in the world .

Now is the perfect time to get in on the action – there are only a few races left in the season out of 22. The battles are heating up and the rest of the 2023 season is ahead of you, and we’ll show you how you can follow me.

History and mechanics of F1

Formula 1 started in 1950 and has continued ever since, followed by mechanical innovations. Today’s cars are like rocket ships compared to the first year, and the millions spent designing and maintaining them likely rival many of the nation’s space programs.

It is a popular sport in Europe and especially in the Middle East, but as riders become younger and more diverse, it is gaining new fans around the world. Formula One has raced in over 34 countries, typically 19 countries in a season.

Ten teams race two cars and drivers each, other drivers are in reserve, and numerous pit lane crews, including mechanics and managers, are on deck in the paddock (backstage of the track). Teams are exactly what it takes and the relationship between a rider and his crew needs to be rock solid for some reason greater than the mortal danger associated with racing over 220 mph every time on a different track .

“Victory” goes not only to the racer – there is the Driver’s Cup and the Constructor’s Cup, and both of them are summed up according to the points system. A team can win both – and often it does – but sometimes someone goes to the rider of one team, and the team goes to the other. Watching the drama as teams compete for points in every race throughout the season gives the sport an addictive quality that makes it almost impossible to stop following it once you’re hooked.

Some Key F1 Terms You Should Know

Safety Car: Used during a race to control pace and ensure safety on the track in hazardous conditions.

DRS: or Drag Reduction System. This allows drivers to reduce aerodynamic drag, allowing drivers to move faster by opening the flap on the rear wing, but only on certain sections of the track, such as straight sections.

Pit Stop: A pause when drivers enter the pit lane to change tires, refuel and make necessary adjustments to their cars, usually no more than three seconds.

Interval: The amount of time or distance between two cars on the track. It can be used to measure the lead or gap that the driver needs to close.

Qualification: Drivers compete in a qualifying round before the race to determine their place on the grid on race day.

Grid: the composition of the cars at the beginning of the race, determined by the results of the qualification.

Pole Position: The starting position ahead of the grid, awarded to the rider with the best lap time in the qualifying session.

P1, P10: “P” stands for “position” and the numbers indicate where the driver finishes.

Podium: The top three riders enjoy the ceremony on the podium.

Tire types: Teams use a variety of tire types, including soft, medium and hard compounds, to adapt to different track conditions, weather and racing strategies.

Track Types: Racing takes place on a variety of track types such as street tracks, highway tracks, and purpose-built race tracks.

Superstars of modern F1

Team Red Bull: with defending champion Max Verstappen , director Christian Horner , superstar Sergio Pérez aka Checo and fan favorite Australian-Italian Daniel Ricciardo on standby.

Team Mercedes: with passionate boss Toto Wolff , seven-time world champion and beloved Lewis Hamilton, and newcomer George Russell in second place.

Ferrari: Former boss Mattia Binotto , a well-known character, was replaced last year by Fred Wasser, while Carlos Sainz Jr. and up-and-coming Charles Leclerc represent Rosso.

Yuki Tsunoda (Team AlphaTauri ) and Pierre Gasly (Team Alpine ) may be on opposite teams now, but they share a camaraderie that could help them both climb the bracket.

The McLaren and Haas teams share both big personalities in leadership and big ambitions on the track that are fun to watch.

Williams and AlphaTauri are the Mercedes and Red Bull B teams, respectively, and Aston Martin also has big ambitions with a particularly quick car setup this season.

When to watch F1 next time

This weekend will see the Canadian Grand Prix where rivals Red Bull and Mercedes will fight for the top spots, but reports say Aston Martin, Ferrari and a few others still have a chance to score big points this season. Formula 1 is exciting, despite the fact that this is a race on the track – each track is unique, and the duration of the competition usually does not exceed 90 minutes, and sometimes two hours. Fans and riders come from all over the world, creating the same excitement and dedication as other world-class competitions like the Champions League, America’s Cup, FIFA World Cup and, er, Eurovision .

As with many major show sports, more variety is needed. There are few riders of color and women have yet to take the grid, so expectations are growing that as the sport opens up new eyes, these spectators will see themselves reflected in the teams, on the track and, especially, on the podium.

If you’re not ready to dive into the fandom in real time, you can turn on Drive to Survive to get some useful info about the sport or see if the cinematic processing appeals to you. But twice a month on Sundays, the biggest show in motorsport continues its global race, gaining popularity with audiences at every turn. This article was originally published with the wrong title, which did not show the Formula One car. Oops. We also had Yuki Tsunoda in Team Alfa Romeo instead of Team AlphaTauri and Mattia Binotto as Ferrari boss instead of Fred Wasser. We apologize, fans of the race.