The first Formula One race weekend began on Mar. 14th with the Australian Grand Prix, and if you’re anything like I was just two years ago, you’re probably confused already. Don’t fret! I’m here to explain the basics you need to know about Formula One — here on shortened to F1 — and prepare you for the new season.
The Basics
F1 is a motorsport—at its core, it’s pretty simple. This season, 20 drivers in 20 cars take to their starting positions (“the grid”), race and then the driver who crosses the checkered flag first is the winner —assuming there are no time penalties or a post-race disqualification.
While differentiating between motorsports can sometimes be tricky, remember that F1 has an “open-wheel” car. This means the wheels are outside the car’s body, not enclosed. The cars have a distinctive shape — think Francesco Bernoulli in Pixar’s “Cars 2.”
There are 24 races this 2025 season, starting with Australia in March and ending with Abu Dhabi in December. Drivers receive points based on their finishing positions during each race, also called a Grand Prix. The driver with the most points combined at the end of the season wins the World Driver’s Championship (WDC).
Importantly, although seemingly an individual sport, F1 is the work of a large team of engineers, strategists, pit crew and the like. There are 10 teams, each with two drivers, and, like with the driver’s championship, the team whose drivers receive the most points combined wins the World Constructors Championship (WCC).
In 2024, Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull Racing, won his fourth WDC, while McLaren broke the era of domination between Mercedes and Red Bull to win their ninth WCC.
As mentioned above, each driver receives points based on their finishing position. For full races, the breakdown is as follows:
1st – 25
2nd – 18
3rd – 15
4th – 12
5th – 10
6th – 8
7th – 6
8th – 4
9th – 2
10th – 1
Any driver finishing lower than 10th receives no points. But wait! Why did “full races” need to be specified? Well…
Sprint Races
Sprint races are shorter versions of the main event. This year, there are six sprint races. When scheduled, these happen the day before the actual race. Because they are shorter, the winners receive fewer points, with first place receiving just eight points, second receiving seven and so on, until the driver in eighth receives one point. Sprint races are highly controversial, as many fans hate them, and even drivers have spoken out against them.
The Race Weekend
Almost all F1 races take place on a Sunday. However, drivers and teams must be at the circuit from Thursday through Sunday. If not racing, what are they doing? The typical weekend breaks down as follows:
Thursday is a media day, where drivers will do interviews, fan zones, etc. No F1 cars are on the track on this day. Friday is a practice day – there are two practice sessions (FP1 and FP2) where drivers can get a feel for how their car will move around this circuit. Saturday has an additional practice in the morning, and then it’s time for qualifying. Qualifying is when each driver’s “grid positions” (starting positions) are set. That wraps up on Saturday, and on Sunday is the race!
The schedule changes during sprint race weekends. On Friday, there is one practice session, as usual, but the second session is replaced by sprint qualifying. Then, on Saturday, the practice session is replaced by the sprint race, followed by qualifying as normal.
One notable exception is the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where the race is on Saturday night instead of Sunday due to the race’s venue on the streets of Vegas and the logistical issues it causes. In this instance, everything gets moved back a day, with practice sessions happening on Thursday and qualifying on Friday.
Qualifying
It’s been mentioned a lot, but how does qualifying work? Qualifying sets the starting positions for the drivers and is done in three phases. In each phase, drivers attempt to get the fastest lap time. All 20 drivers drive in phase one, but the five drivers with the slowest times are “dropped.” This repeats again in phase two, with the following five slowest drivers dropped. The last 10 drivers are left for phase three. They will then be slotted into the grid based on their times – the fastest time will start in first place. The drivers who got “dropped” will receive positions based on their time in the group. In phase one, the driver who came in 16th will start in 16th position. In phase two, the driver who came in 11th will begin in 11th.
The Race
What about the actual race? What happens? What goes on? Well, it’s relatively simple. The drivers line up at their places on the grid – which they earned in qualifying – and the race starts when the lights ‘go out.’ (Five traffic lights light up red and then turn off). During the race, drivers try to get past other cars and complete an overtake, which is just getting in front of the vehicle in front of you. Each car must have at least one pit stop during the race and change tire compounds, which is huge for strategy, as you can lose a lot of time in the pits. However, newer tires have more grip and are faster. It’s a balancing act to get the timing right!
What are tyre compounds? Each team has three types of tires during a race — softs, mediums and hards. At the pit stop, teams must switch compounds — a soft to a medium, or a medium to a hard, for example. Softs are faster but don’t last as long, hards tend to be slower but last longer and mediums are in the middle. However, each circuit will interact with each compound differently.
Part of the team’s strategy during the race will be figuring out when to pit, how many pit stops they’ll need, and what tire compound they will switch to. There’s a lot more going on than just cars going in circles!
Penalties
During a race, a driver might be deemed at fault for causing a collision or exceeding track limits – driving over the lines – too many times. These can lead to time penalties, which affect the end results. For instance, a driver could finish first but receive a five-second time penalty. If the car in second crossed the line less than five seconds after the car in first, the second car would win because of the five seconds added to the first driver’s time.
It’s a bit confusing, especially because these penalties can be added after the race, even after celebrations. Drivers have had to swap trophies after the race is over. Sometimes, the penalties are contested, but these incidents tend to be resolved quickly after the race. Keep an eye out for any changes!
Circuits
Where do they actually race? There are two types of circuits — street circuits and permanent races. Street races happen in the streets of whatever city they take place in. For instance, the Las Vegas Grand Prix is a street circuit, so the drivers are driving on the same roads that commuters would drive on every day (only they’ve added barriers). The other types of circuits have been specifically created for motorsport racing.
Note: unlike in NASCAR, circuits are not oval-shaped. They’re all different lengths and shapes.
All 24 races happen at a different circuit, with locations across 5 continents (besides Antarctica, the other missing continent is Africa, although there are petitions to add an African circuit to the mix in the near future).
Drivers and the Teams
Enough about the technicalities! Who’s racing? There are 10 teams on the grid this year, with 20 drivers. Teams include car manufacturers you might know — Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin — but also in the lineup are Red Bull, VCARB (Red Bull’s junior team – acronym is short for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls), Haas, Alpine, Kick Sauber and Williams.
Each team has two drivers, although teams are notorious for swapping drivers mid-season, so it’s possible a reserve driver or two will be seen this season. Notable drivers include Max Verstappen, who’s on a 4-year WDC win streak, Lewis Hamilton, 7-time champion who recently moved to Ferrari after 12 years at Mercedes and the sport’s first black driver, Fernando Alonso, 2-time champion and the oldest driver on the grid and Lando Norris, McLaren driver who was Verstappen’s closest competition last year. This year, there are five rookies driving, representing a new generation of drivers. The youngest driver, Kimi Antonelli, is just 18.
Other Helpful F1 Terms
DRS (Drag Reduction System) – A flap on the car that opens to give cars more speed in a straight line. It can only be activated when a car is behind another car by less than a second.
FIA: Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or the group that governs F1.
Red Flag: A red flag means that the race must stop. This is typically due to safety – a crashed car needs to be moved, or it’s raining too much. Races will typically be restarted after the weather gets better or debris has been cleared.
Yellow Flag: Typically waved or in effect for only part of the track, this flag means drivers need to slow down and exercise caution in that specific area. They cannot overtake.
Safety Car: Essentially a track-wide yellow flag. A car will come out, and the drivers must stay behind the safety car. Sometimes, there’s a virtual safety car where drivers can’t drive above a certain speed.
Pit Wall: A wall in the pits where race engineers, strategists, team principals and other crew sit to run data and assist the driver.
Podium: The drivers who finish in the first three positions are on the podium and get a trophy and an awards ceremony.
Pole Position / Pole: The first grid slot. The person who starts from pole position starts the race in first place.
Stewards: The people who make decisions on penalties and the like.
How do I watch it?
Excellent question! In America, race times are often at unideal hours, leading to early Sunday mornings. However, if that doesn’t deter you from watching it live, you can subscribe to F1TV or watch it on ESPN in the United States.
And that’s it! Remember: although this seems like a lot, as a viewer, F1 can be as simple or as complicated as you want. It can be cars zooming around on a track, trying to be number one, or you can try to overthink strategy from the comfort of your home. If you want to watch it for the sheer amount of engineering that goes into the cars, go for it! If you want to watch it because the cars make good sounds, that’s also valid! It can be enjoyable no matter how much effort you put into it. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show!