Formula 1 is back

Day 61 / 366

The 2024 Formula 1 season is about to begin. The first Qualifying session is tonight which will decide the grid order for the first race tomorrow.

I just got into F1 racing 2 years back, and before that, like everyone else, I dismissed it as being a boring sport where a bunch of cars go around in circles. But I love it so much now that I not only watch every race but also the practice sessions leading up to it.

So with the new season starting, I thought I should write a quick post to get other people started on it as well.

The Basics

Formula 1 is a contest amongst 10 teams comprising of 24 races spread over a year. Each race happens at a different circuit all around the world. Each team has 2 drivers. Points are awarded to each driver at the end of the races based on their finishing positions.

There are 2 championships

• World Drivers Championship — Awarded to the driver with the most points
• World Constructors Championship — Awarded to the team with the biggest combined scores of their drivers.

The Engineering

F1 is as much a sport about the skills of the driver as it is about the engineering team that builds the car. While there are rules and specifications that each car must meet, the teams are still able to develop extremely different cars.

This is where the uncertainty in the sport comes in, a great driver in an average car might get beaten by an average driver in a great car.

And as the season goes on, the team keeps updating their cars to try and improve their performance. So a team that starts at the back in the first race might find itself on the podium by the last race, as Mclaren did in 2023.

The Strategy

Another aspect of the sport is the strategy. While its the driver that is driving the car, there is a team of strategists and engineers constantly analyzing the data from their car and their competitors to help the driver with the decisions they should be making during the race.

For instance, the fastest car might not always win the race. Since these cars are so fast, their tires degrade quickly as well, and they will need to replace the tires more than once during a race. These tire changes have to be timed to perfection. Also, there are 5 different types of tires to choose from.

Where to start?

If you want to get into F1, there is nothing better than just watching a race in its entirety. But if you want an easier way in, you can check out the Netflix series — Drive to Survive. That’s what got me into F1.