Banner image – Carlos Sainz Jr. Credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Formula 1 (F1) is often described as the pinnacle of motorsport – a showcase of talent and technology, not to mention famous places such as Monaco or Las Vegas. The first F1 race was run in 1950 at Silverstone, here in the UK, although some would argue it started with the French Grand Prix of 1906.
Every race sees millions around the world tune in and thousands pay to sit trackside and take in the atmosphere. If, however, you’re new to F1 or haven’t paid it much attention for a while, strap yourself in, as we bring you the Rest Less Guide to Formula 1.
F1 has changed a great deal since Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina won that first race in 1950 – and we don’t mean just the technology. These days, it’s as much about off-track action as what happens on the racing circuits of the world.
That’s partly due to the success of the Netflix documentary series, Drive to Survive, which first aired in 2019. It’s also down to the media coverage around some of the people involved in this multi-billion pound racing series.
It’s not just the drivers that draw attention either, with team managers such as Red Bull’s Christian Horner in the media spotlight, as well as team owners and celebrities. Often referred to as the F1 ‘circus’, it’s a sport full of drama.
What’s F1 all about?
To put it simply, F1 is about…winning of course. As multiple F1 champion, Ayrton Senna once famously said; “being second is to be the first of the ones who lose.”
Those of us who grew up in the era of Brazilian F1 driver, Ayrton Senna, versus French F1 driver Alain Prost may have great memories of the way the two fought so closely on the track. It’s regarded by many as a golden era of F1, but today, there are more races than ever before – 24 in 2024. There are also more circuits, including new venues like Las Vegas, and names old and new in the highly coveted driving seats.
In total, there are 20 drivers this season, two for each of the 10 teams, as well as reserve drivers. Ultimately, each has an ambition to become the Drivers’ Champion. But some are just keen to hold onto their seat for next season, or to impress another team in the hope of switching.
Let’s not forget, that it’s also about not crashing, though it’s the inherent risk that keeps many on the edge of their sofa during every race.
“People criticise Formula 1 as an unnecessary risk. But what would life be like if we only did what is necessary?,” said former champion and team manager, Niki Lauda. There’s risk and reward, of course, and F1 drivers get paid the big money to take the risks they do.
It’s definitely not as risky as it used to be though. Safety has improved dramatically and there are more electronics to keep things under control. But when you’re travelling towards a bend at 200mph in one of the most powerful single-seater cars on the planet, the risks are still very real.
These days we have day and night races and formats that might be unfamiliar to some, with the introduction of additional Sprint races a few years ago. There’s no shortage of glitz and glamour either with the famous Monaco Grand Prix still on the calendar. And in Las Vegas and Miami, celebs and business icons regularly mix with the drivers on the grid.
Who are the F1 teams?
The grid (which refers to the starting positions of the cars on the track before a race starts) is made up of 10 teams. Some are names that have been in F1 for decades, while others are newer to the scene. Some new names in 2024 are rebranded old names like Kick Sauber, which was Alfa Romeo F1, or Red Bull’s junior team, RB, which last season was Alpha Tauri.
The big names that you will be familiar with if you are returning to F1, or just names you will likely still recognise, are the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, and Red Bull. Ferrari has been in F1 since 1950 and is the most successful in the sport, with 19 Constructors’ Championship titles. And there’s big news for the Italian marque because, for the 2025 season, British multiple F1 champion Lewis Hamilton will switch to the team from Mercedes-AMG.
British team Williams F1 has been struggling in recent years but remains the second most successful team, with nine constructors’ trophies in the cabinet of its HQ in Didcot, Oxfordshire.
McLaren also celebrated its first title way back in 1974 and has eight championships to its credit. And it’s mainly thanks to Hamilton that Mercedes-AMG has seven titles, while Red Bull will again be the favourite this season to add to its tally of four constructor’s trophies.
The main teams looking to beat Red Bull were Ferrari and Mercedes, but McLaren had a resurgence in 2023 and finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. The Woking-based team looks set to be even more of a threat to the top three in 2024. They will have to keep an eye on Aston Martin though, which finished fifth ahead of Alpine.
Who are the F1 drivers?
Max Verstappen took the Driver’s Championship title in 2023 after winning an incredible 19 out of 22 races for Red Bull. His aggressive and often risky driving style has mellowed slightly in the past couple of years, probably due to a bit of coaching from the team managers – but there’s no sign of his determination to win letting up anytime soon.
Sir Lewis Hamilton is in his final season with Mercedes-AMG F1 in 2024 and is looking to add another driver and team title to his tally as a leaving gift. Hamilton will be joining Charles Leclerc at Ferrari next year, and Leclerc will be keen to impress team bosses before Sir Lewis arrives in Maranello. With Hamilton leaving, fellow Brit, George Russell will be looking for more podiums at Mercedes this season, but he’ll have to watch out for McLaren’s Lando Norris.
While there’s a great deal of experience on the grid, there are some relative newbies too. Oscar Piastri of McLaren and Logan Sergeant of Williams are both in their second season and looking to advance their F1 careers.
Here’s the full list of all the drivers competing in the 2024 season…
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull Racing
- Sergio Perez – Red Bull Racing
- Charles Leclerc – Scuderia Ferrari
- Carlos Sainz – Scuderia Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes-AMG
- George Russell – Mercedes-AMG
- Lando Norris – McLaren
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren
- Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
- Daniel Ricciardo – RB
- Yuki Tsunoda – RB
- Nico Hulkenberg – Haas F1
- Kevin Magnussen – Haas F1
- Esteban Ocon – Alpine
- Pierre Gasly – Alpine
- Valtteri Bottas – Kick Sauber
- Zhou Guanyu – Kick Sauber
- Alexander Albon – Williams
- Logan Sergeant – Williams
Where are the F1 races?
2024 will see a record 24 races on the calendar. China returns this year with the Shanghai Grand Prix, and it’ll be the second year for the Las Vegas GP. There are familiar locations too, including Silverstone in the UK, São Paulo in Brazil, and Melbourne in Australia.
F1 has become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years, again partly because of the Drive to Survive documentary. This year will see three races Stateside, including in Miami, Austin, and Las Vegas.
More races continue to take place in the Middle East, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. European races remain incredibly popular, and feature four of the circuits that were used during that first season back in 1950: Monaco, Monza in Italy, Silverstone in the UK, and Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.
What are the F1 race formats?
This is where things aren’t so straightforward, unless you are an avid fan of F1 and have been following the changes over the past few years. The days when you could simply sit down on a Sunday afternoon and switch on the telly to hear Murray Walker shouting “go, go, go” are long gone.
Today there are more time zones than ever, with some races on a Saturday and the addition of Sprint races on a Friday. It’s all aimed at making things more exciting for fans at the track or at home, but it can get a little confusing.
Most races follow a standard format with practice sessions taking place on Friday. Qualifying happens on Saturday to decide where each driver will start on the grid for the main race.
Qualifying sessions are split into three; the first being 18 minutes long, with the five slowest drivers getting knocked out. Q2 is 15 minutes and decides the grid positions up to the 11th position. And, finally, Q3 is 12 minutes where the competition heats up for the top 10 grid positions, including the crucial pole position (first on the grid).
Then the lights will go out on Sunday, and all the drivers will compete to be first past the famous checkered flag. For those completely new to F1, ‘lights out’ refers to the five red lights above the starting line that will illuminate in sequence, before going out, to signal the start of the race. Whoever wins the race gets maximum points, with a descending number of points for positions up to 10th.
During the race, each driver has to drive into the pits twice to change tyres with the pit crew able to do this in under two seconds. The pit stops are a race in themselves and can decide the outcome of the whole weekend.
Tyre choices are a critical part of the strategy, with the teams having access to various tyres from the official supplier, Pirelli. There are hard and soft tyres – which wear out differently depending on the track surface and driving style – as well as wet tyres for when the rain comes down. Strategies in the car or the pit lane are as much a part of F1 as the racing itself.
Ultimately, the championships are decided by points and, to make things more interesting, these aren’t based purely on the outcome of the race. And this is also where things can get more complicated.
It’s simple enough to understand points for achieving pole position or fastest lap in the race, but then there are the sprint races. 2024 will see six of these taking place during the same weekends as the main races in Austin, Austria, Brazil, China, Miami, and Qatar.
Lasting for around half an hour, a sprint sees drivers competing in a 100km dash without any pit stops. Qualifying for these takes place on the Friday, with the sprint race itself happening just before the main race qualifying on the Saturday. Again, points are up for grabs but teams and drivers have to balance the risks of the sprint against chasing victory on Sunday.
What makes up an F1 car?
An F1 car costs millions and requires a vast team of designers and engineers to get it to the grid. The bodywork is made from super light carbon fibre that’s been aerodynamically optimised to help the car slice through the air while staying close to the ground. Even the way the air leaves the back of the car is carefully planned to try and make the racing as close as possible.
Each F1 car is powered by a turbocharged petrol engine that revs to around 15,000rpm, which is more than twice that of a conventional family car. All use an eight-speed automatic gearbox, with drivers able to change gears using paddle-shifts on the highly technical steering wheel. Plus, there are additional systems to recover energy from the brakes and heat of the engine to add more power.
But it’s not just about power either because the Drag Reduction System (DRS) allows a driver to open a flap in the rear wing at specific sections of a circuit to allow the car to go faster. Senna would probably have been fascinated by all this technology but others of his era, probably not so much.
What’s the future for F1?
F1 seems to be enjoying a resurgence and continues to showcase new designs and technology that could well find its way into the cars we drive in the future. Currently, the cars use 10% renewable bio-ethanol fuel, for example, but testing is underway to get them to use completely synthetic fuel in the future.
F1 cars won’t be fully electric anytime soon though, as the existing Formula E electric racing series has exclusive rights until 2035. That will be good news to those who love the sound and the theatre of F1.
Whether you enjoy the on-track action, glitz and glamour, or just want to see what it’s all about, F1 has plenty to offer. Sky Sports has the broadcast rights in the UK but many of the races are shown later on Channel 4, with some even being shown live.
It might seem like it’s less about what happens on the track than it used to be, but if, like me, you just want to watch the drivers battling it out on track, then, when the lights go out, it’s still a case of go, go, go.
Are you an F1 fan? Or are you looking to start following F1? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.