F1 Explained: What is Formula 1?
Imagine multi-million pound rocket cars hurtling down a straight, five times your own body weight pressing you into your seat, flying past thousands of fans at 370 kilometres per hour. The fame, the glory. Does that sound like your kind of thing? This is Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport. Strap in because it’s time you learned why everyone is so obsessed over this sport as old as time.
Formula 1 is the top step of a long and expensive motorsport ladder in single-seater racing. It’s every racer’s dream to occupy one of 22 seats available in a season. It’s fast, it’s challenging, and every driver has the same goal, to win the ultimate prize of being World Champion, and to have the Number 1 on their car the following season. Only that person can truly say that they are above the rest, the real best driver in the world.
Despite the dream that everyone sees, there is a deep and complex chain of regulations behind it. Every team has to follow it by the book to be able to race, and these are set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the governing body of Formula 1. To learn more about these regulations, you can read our article about the new 2026 regulations.
The Participants
Formula 1 wouldn’t be what it is without the participants. As of 2026, there are 11 teams and 22 drivers filling the grid. Each team must produce their own chassis for the season, resulting in a full-on engineering war amidst the glitz and glamour. However, teams are allowed to use powertrains provided by other teams, meaning many teams also rely on their rivals while fighting them on the track.
The Championships
Formula 1 is primarily made up of 2 championships. The 22 drivers battle it out across a 24 race season to score the highest number of points and outscore everyone else to secure the Driver’s Championship, often along with a lovely prize sum from their team. The teams earn their points through their 2 drivers, totalling them both and whichever team has the most points come the season end, the Constructor’s Championship is theirs. The prize for the Constructor’s Championship is the highest sum of the prize money, meaning increased funding for their car next season. Only the drivers who finish within the top 10 of the race get points though. 25 for 1st place, 18 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, down to 1 for 10th.
Race Weekends
A typical race weekend spans across 4 days. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Thursday is Media Day, Friday is Practice Day, Saturday is Qualifying Day and Sunday is everybody’s favourite day, Race Day. Then the entire sport gets packed up and flown to the next country to restart the cycle all over again, 24 times a year. Or 22 in 2026 with the cancellation of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The Lingo
In the rich 76 year history of Formula 1, everyone has developed a sort of made up language, and it can get very confusing. So to soothe that pained head of yours, here are some key terms that you will hear across the weekend, and what they mean. “Grand Prix” is another name for the race. It is translated from French for “Grand Prize”, and it is the Grand Prize to win a race. “Pit Stop” is the term used for when a driver comes in mid race to change their tyres and maybe their front wing and aero angle. Fun Fact: F1 Pit Stops are completed in just 2 seconds! “Active Aero” is the brand new system for 2026 that gives the car a speed and electrical boost, and provides more downforce along the straights of a circuit.
Did you learn anything today? I sure hope you did. Why don’t you go along and read some more of our articles and maybe even watch our videos to learn more about not just F1 or motorsports!
I hope you enjoyed learning about Formula 1 today, and if you're still confused, read the next article in this series. You never know, you might just learn something new.
