An old sport has been gaining popularity in the US in recent years, thanks in part to a Netflix docuseries that follows the sport from an up-close and personal perspective. Formula One (F1) auto racing is known as the highest class of international single-seater formula racing cars. Many consider it “the pinnacle of motorsport and the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition” as it’s described on the Formula One website.
The “Formula” in the name refers to a set of rules; car design, engine size, etc. and the “One” signifies that it is the highest class of Formula racing. The Netflix docuseries; “Drive to Survive,” follows every season of F1 since 2018 in great detail, with behind-the scenes interviews and clips from inside the paddock—the working ‘backstage’ area of F1—and has been bringing in many new fans.
The World Championship takes place from March to December every year, with Grand Prix races held on circuits around the world throughout the season, with drivers and teams accumulating points throughout the season. The driver and team with the most points win the Driver’s and Constructor’s World Championships respectively. Drivers place by their individual scores, while teams place by the combined scores of the team members. Over the winter break, from the season’s end in December through testing in February, teams work to develop a new car for the upcoming Formula 1 season.
All 24 Grand Prix weekends of the season, wherever held, are structured the same way. Friday is practice, when teams have 90 minutes to test their setup around the track, wanting to ensure their car is performing as best it can. Saturday is qualifying, when the lineup for the race is decided. Sunday is raceday, when all 20 cars race for the Grand Prix title, and for 25 points to the bid for the World Championship.
While auto racing can be traced back to the early 1900s, the F1 World Championship had its inaugural run of what was then six Grand Prix races back in 1950, with the first race being hosted at Silverstone Circuit in England.
The F1 racing grid is made up of 20 drivers on 10 teams, with two drivers per team. Teams are made up of race engineers and mechanics. This will change for the first time in 10 years, as the Haas F1 team made its 2016 debut with the 2026 addition of the Cadillac F1 team, meaning that the grid will have 11 teams and 22 drivers.
Teams are often car companies, such as Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, but there are also several teams that use engines from one of the aforementioned car makers while creating their own car bodies or liveries. Some examples of this are Williams Racing, a historic British F1 racing team that uses Mercedes engines for their cars, and Red Bull Racing, which has a contract with Honda to build their engines through the end of 2025.
The current World Championship leaders are McLaren, by such a wide margin that they have already been named winners of the World Constructor’s Championship. The drivers race is tighter this year, with the two McLaren drivers; Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, trading lead in the championship back and forth all year, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen creating an increasingly smaller gap between second and third in the running for the World Driver’s Championship.
