This is it people. We are officially one month out from the start of the 2025 Formula One season. Outside of the actual racing calendar, this is the most fast paced sector of the season. Which makes now the best possible time to get into the sport. I just want to spend today getting through some basics.
To put it comically, this is not Nascar. Yes the cars have four wheels but that is about as much as the two share in common. They each use different engines, Nascar being the V8 while F1 has transitioned into a “greener” approach with hybrid engines. They race at different tracks, with the exception of Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The biggest difference however, is the point system. So that is mostly what we will cover today.
Formula 1 is headed by the FIA , otherwise known as International Automobile Federation, the organization responsible for superintendence of almost any motorsport. There are 10 teams on the grid , the grid being the organization or participation of any car team or driver at any given time, with each team having 2 drivers. During the season, which lasts from late february to late november, 24 rounds of racing occur, spanning all across the globe. During these rounds drivers rack up points based on the position they finish in at the end of the grand prix. This separates F1 into two competitions. Throughout the season, drivers are ranked in what is known as the World Driver’s Championship, based on their personal point values. Teams are simultaneously being ranked by the cumulative points their driver pairing has scored in the World Constructors Championship. The idea between two separate championships is to award innovative engineering accomplished by the teams, as well as the high level of skill at which these drivers perform This makes the two championships the aim of the year, unless you are one of the backfield teams, in which case your only goal is to try and make it into the mid field. This is a more current topic too, with this being the year Williams is set to make a comeback, if not in 2026. This is all about to get way more complicated though, because as previously mentioned, the FIA are in charge of everything. They set the rules and regulations, and the rules for all of this are set to change in 2026. Not just the racing regulations though, the parameters they design their cars by are being altered as well. Meaning that the status quo of the last however many years is being shaken up big time. Again, making this the peak time to get into the sport. Any team you decide to support this year, while beginning to understand the sport, could have a shot at either or both championships next season.