F1 is a fast-growing sport, but despite the new craze, many struggles to join the hype due to the sport’s complicated nature. For that reason, here are a few key features of the sport that you need to know!
F1 lingo: the basics
The grid = these are the positions on the track where the drivers line up to start a race based on their qualifying times – with the fastest occupying the front and the slowest at the back.
Qualifying= is used to decide the starting grid for Race Day where drivers aim to set their fastest lap times to gain an advantageous position to start the race.
Constructors’ Championship = this is the title and award given to the team that scores the most points over the f1 season.
Drivers’ Championship = this is the title and award given to the driver that scores the most points over the f1 season.
Hybrid era = this was entered in 2014 when f1 made a move to using hybrid technology combined with the ICE (internal combustion engine)
The teams and their drivers
Formula one has been a platform for immense history to develop with teams like Ferrari, arguably one of the most successful teams overall, which was developed by Enzo Ferrari in 1947 and has raced in EVERY championship from 1950 to today. Other teams like McLaren, the second oldest active team, have eight Constructors’ Champion titles and Williams, with nine to their name, are more examples of historical teams that are still racing today.
Despite these legacy teams still gracing the grid, newer teams like Mercedes, who have been pegged as the most successful team of the new generation cars, have won seven consecutive drivers’ championships with Lewis Hamilton, and brought home eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships between 2014-2021. However, with Red Bull racing also on the grid, they have brought a fight to Mercedes, denying them the eighth consecutive Drivers’ Championship by snatching it controversially in the last race of the 2021 season where Max Verstappen won the race.
Amongst these big names, other teams such as Alpine, Aston Martin, AlphaTaruai, Alfa Romeo and Haas rounded out the grid to 10 teams this season, with 13 being allowed.
Each of these 10 teams has two cars with two drivers each. Here is a list of each team and their drivers (with their racing numbers in brackets) in the order of the current Constructors’ standings as of 25 May:
- Oracle Red Bull Racing Drivers: Max Verstappen (1 previously 33) and Sergio (aka Checo) Perez (11)
- Scuderia Ferrari Drivers: Charles Leclerc (16) and Carlos Sainz (55)
- Mercedes- AMG Petronas F1 Team Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (44) and George Russell (63)
- Mclaren F1 Team Drivers: Lando Norris (4) and Daniel Ricciardo (3)
- Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen Drivers: Valtteri Bottas (77) and Zhou Guanyu (24)
- BWT Alpine F1 Team Drivers: Fernando Alonso (14) and Esteban Ocon (31)
- Scuderia AlphaTauri Drivers: Pierre Gasly (10) and Yuki Tsunoda (22)
- Haas F1 Team Drivers: Mick Schumacher (47) and Kevin Magnussen (20)
- Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team Drivers: Sebastian Vettel (5) and Lance Stroll (18)
- Williams Racing Drivers: Nicholas Latifi (6) and Alexander Albon (23)
From these, a few names could have stood out to you, namely Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who in 2021 provided F1 fans with one of the most spectacular seasons of the hybrid era. So, here’s a little bit about them:
Sir Lewis Hamilton:
183 podiums, 103 race wins, and 7 World Titles. From those stats alone, it is clear Lewis (Sir, after being knighted) is one of the most successful drivers who has stepped into an f1 car. Furthermore, being the only black driver to do so in f1 history. He has lived up to his motto “Still I rise” on multiple occasions, making himself not only a force to reckon with on track but also off track as he uses his platform to speak up for the rights of others within the sport as well as in the world. Despite having an inferior car currently, Lewis still has the drive that has made him one of the GOATS, and we all believe he will be back up there soon!
Max Verstappen:
The Dutch Lion, 63 podiums, 1 World Title. Max is Formula One’s youngest ever race starter at 17, youngest points scorer as well as youngest race winner at 18 years old during his debut
as a Red Bull racing driver in 2016. Now at 24, he is the Netherlands’ first world champion. However, this is just the beginning of his upward curve in the sport as this year he seeks to defend his title from current challenger Charles Leclerc (who, up until Barcelona, was leading the championship for the first time in his career and who is a part of the new generation of drivers who grew up racing Max in karting.)
Charles, in his own right, has had a highly successful drive in F1 and became the first driver to outscore four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel. For this, it is clear Max and Charles are going to provide us with an epic battle and with the likes of Lewis and George on the grid, the 2022 season has the potential to offer a three-way battle for the drivers and Constructors Championship.
However, these are just three drivers out of 20 with epic talent. You should look up the new generation’s drivers such as Pierre, Lando, George, Alex, and Yuki but also legacies drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso for a greater appreciation of the talent on the grid.
So how does a race weekend work?
We race every Sunday: Well kind of. The f1 calendar features 22 races which move between Australia, Europe and the Americas. Some of the most popular races include Monaco, a track
that boasts F1 history like no other, with 78 laps and its first Grand Prix held in 1950. Other tracks are Monza with 53 laps of epic top speeds of 360km/h and Silverstone (AKA British Grand Prix) with 52 laps and is known as a historical track that always puts on a fantastic show as the home race of many drivers and teams. However, these are just a few of the tracks with new circuits added every season. We are, therefore, hoping for a race in Africa soon.
Over the weekend, we have three days of cars on track. Fridays consist of FP1 and FP2, where we see an hour-long session where the teams run different strategies and test out various tyres to gather data about the track and its effects on the cars. It is also a time for the adjustments needed to be made to the cars as well as for the drivers to learn all they can about the track such as where they can gain time.
Saturdays consist of an FP3 session, one final time for the drivers to test out the adjustments made from the previous day before the racing begins. Saturday includes Qualifying (often shorted to Quali), where most of the action happens. Here we have three sessions, namely Q1, 2 and 3, where drivers set their fastest times in each session. This determines the starting grid for Sunday. In Q1 all drivers participate with the top 15 progressing to Q2. In Q2 the fastest 10 progresses to Q3, and Q3 determines the top 10 line-ups for the grid with most drivers aiming for Pole position (aka 1st place).
Race Day (aka Sunday) is when the action truly begins. Here, we have around 50-70 laps, depending on the track, where the drivers and teams use all, they have learned and the cars under them to push the limits. Instead of racing to times, we have cars race each other, making it a remarkably interesting and exciting time.
But why do they race?
Well for points. The top ten finishers score points over the weekend that all get added up over each race weekend to decide where they as a team finish and as individual drivers. The team with the highest points scores at the end of the 22 races will be crowned Constructors’ Champions, while the driver with the most points will be crowned the World Drivers’ Champion (a massive achievement all drivers aim to achieve in their career but many fall short of doing). The points are simple, first place scores 25, second 18, third 15, 12,10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 for positions 4 through 10, respectively. In addition, any driver can score an additional spot if within the top ten for doing the fastest lap of the race.
My highlight of the weekend besides lights out on a Sunday and the epic heart palpitations is the OUTFITS! Yes, you read that right, an f1 weekend would be nothing without the epic fashion it puts on display, and the inspiration one can grab from the drivers to their partners to paddock guests is phenomenal! Be sure to check out accounts like @f1ladiescloset to catch the latest fits for some potential inspiration.
A summary of where we are as we enter the seventh round
Last week the Barcelona race supplied an epic comeback for the Mercedes boys as they secured a third and fifth (aka P3 and P5) finish that has given the team some hope for the week to come as we approach Monaco. With Max taking a win and Checo taking P2, this left Red Bull ahead for both championships, with Charles having a DNF (did not finish) and scoring no points. Therefore, we look closely to the next race and continue to follow the close battle between Ferrari with Charles and Red Bull with Max. Furthermore, we look anxiously to see where Mercedes will be after their good weekend and whether teams like McLaren’s upgrades will be of benefit.
For now, though this article has barely touched the surface of the complicated sport that is f1, I hope it has educated you on the incredible sport! Some more articles will follow this, delving into the technical side of the sport, outlining the rules and more about the hybrid era. So, stay tuned for those, but for now, that is all from me.