Beginner Guide to Formula 1⊹ ࣪ ˖

Drive To Survive

I know that there is some discourse about the Netflix series about formula 1 but as someone who watched the series first and then did my research about F1 afterwards, I would argue that watching it first is a great way to get interested in the world of Formula 1. Although it is slightly dramatised and filmed like a reality TV show, it does explain the concept of Formula 1 well and shows behind the scenes clips of contract deals, the lifestyle of the drivers and the overall making of the cars that they drive. It gives an insight of how many people are needed to create these high-speed cars. Drive to Survive, in my opinion, is a great starting point, even if it doesn’t cover all the aspects of Formula 1.

The Rookies

The addition to five rookies this year has given people the opportunity to get involved with them as they are just starting their careers, not needing to look through race archives to find other driver’s first races. Most of them are central to their teams’ social media account and usually appease younger audiences by doing Tiktok trends. I think they are a good way for younger children to get into Formula 1 as it shows a different side of F1, a more fun and goofy side. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls social media is especially fun because both of their drivers are relatively young, both being part of Gen z, which means they are probably more up to date with the trends of today.

Pre-Race schedule

When I was just getting into watching actual races, everything was confusing, especially the time differences between drivers. As I started watching free practices and qualifying, it all started to make sense as the commentators tend to explain things more during these relatively chill sessions. Free practices are 1-hour sessions of drivers testing their car set up and changing it throughout the weekend to see which one works better for the race. They usually do a few fast laps and towards the end start doing long laps to collect data for the team. Qualifying is essential for the race as it determines the starting grid (what position the drivers start from during the race). You also get to see how fast the cars are able to go without actually racing. Qualifying is split into three parts: Q1, Q2, and Q3 and in each section, the bottom five are dropped from qualifying and will be starting below 10th.

Pick a team

You don’t need a good reason to choose a team. they could be representing your country, or have the same music taste as you. Just anything that could lead you to supporting a team/driver is a good enough reason. Pick a team where you feel like the drivers align with yourself and try supporting them throughout a weekend to see how it goes. If not that, then I suggest supporting a team like Ferrari first before looking into other teams and choosing a team that you feel represents you in the sport. For example, I am a big Lewis Hamilton fan but my favourite team as of right now is VCARB because both their drivers seem wholesome and fun. You can like as many drivers as you want, there is no limit to how many drivers you support or root for! Teams are fun to support, especially when you support both drivers.

Social Media

A big reason as to why I am a fan of VCARB is because of their social media presence. Some teams are more professional with their pages, like promoting their sponsors or creating edits of their drivers to cool music (cough Ferrari). On the flip side, we have some social media teams that feed into the general public by joining in on trends and creating an overall fun environment on their platforms. Choose whichever one you prefer and give them a follow! Hopefully, their updates will draw you in closer to the world of Formula 1.

The End❀

That is it for my guide to getting into Formula 1!! I would love to hear about how you guys got into formula one. I, for one, started watching drive to survive because I saw a video of Yuki Tsunoda crashing on my For You Page on Tiktok and it interested me as to why people would risk their lives for a sport. Quite a weird way of getting into formula 1 and I hope I have encouraged you guys into taking the step to getting to know the sport better۶ৎ