I'm going to start off with some fast and furious education that most folksaren't well aware of, but is one of the fastest growing sports in the US, where it is already a worldwide phenomenon: Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix (GP) racing! Lets go through a primer of how this sport works, and how you readers can catch the premiere of a brand new race in Vegas this weekend! The sudden surge of interest is thanks to the Netflix series, "Drive to Survive", which is a good primer as well to get involved in the drama that occurs during an F1/GP season. There are six seasons now to watch- that's how I got into the zoom-zoom of F1 racing. The new season of Drive to Survive just premiered so you can get up to date from what went down in 2023!
So what to know: in F1, there are ten teams with two cars/drivers for a total of 20 racers on the starting grid. As of 2023, there are 23 GP races around the world, with Vegas GP being the newest one added, so this will be a new street race (Like Monaco GP) for all the teams/drivers- that alone is exciting!
Now the goal is two-fold for both the teams and drivers: At the end of GP racing season, there are two categories at play: The Constructors Cup, which is team/engineering standings, and the Drivers Cup standings. These are determined by an accumulation of points after each race. On the team side, the first ten teams score points, last ten teams, nada, zilch.
What's important about finishing in the top 10, is that there is serious money to be had...I'm talking tens of millions, depending on where a driver/team finishes. At the end of the F1 racing season, the difference between placing first and 10th, is hundreds of millions of dollars! The profit teams make is surprisingly small considering what money is won, that is because of costs- most of which goes into the engineering of the race cars, the drivers, and staff. Teams make money from outside the track, merch, advertising, sponsorships, etc.
I could talk about the geeky, technical side, but I won't go down that rabbit hole. I have a simple, fun and brief video below to explain WTF is F1, plus there are many YouTube videos that can further beef up your knowledge.
As a F1 newbie fan myself, I will cover one important element of the races: Tyres! (not a typo, that's how they spell it.)
Simply put, there are three types of tyres: Soft, Medium, and Hard (Compound). Much like a Grindr hookup, it all depends on the condition of the track, the length of track, and how many laps, as well as weather conditions.
Soft tyre is used for Fast driving, Medium is exactly that, not as fast but more durable, and Hard is used for durability, but not as fast. Tyre degradation is a big deal, as I have learned, so it is extremely important to use which type at what point. Plus to reduce the number of pit stops during a race to change over tyres.
As for the drivers themselves, there is eye candy for everyone! Daddies, Zaddies, Twinks, Twunks, and plenty of international flavor among the 20! Some are rookies, others are long term vets. Almost all have a strong social media presence, and are hugely popular all around the world (there are three GP races here in the US: Miami and Austin, Vegas is the newest one!). You may have noticed in the above picture that it says 2023 Driver lineup, I haven't seen a 2024 pic of all the drivers and their teams, but I can use the 2023 picture, as for the first time in years, there hasn't been a single change with the teams/drivers. Update: De Vries was ousted, and Daniel Riccardo has taken his seat for 2024. You can catch all the zoom zoom action on ESPN+. I would advise listening/learning from the commentators, which provide valuable insight and observations about the teams/drivers and the drama behind the scenes!
I hope you find this F1 primer helpful. While I agree watching cars go round and round seems a bit dull, the unpredictability of what could happen on the track (Crashes, bumping, overtakes, lead changes!), is what makes Formula 1 Grand Prix racing exciting and fun! For example, the Grand Prix race in Sao Paulo last season had two crashes and five drivers (all okay) DNF (Did Not Finish) the 71 lap course. And for the record, the two drivers that I swoon over are Lando Norris and Charles (the s is silent) LaClerc! :) Breaking: ESPN writer Nate Saunders just posted this very useful guide to get to know the drivers! I highly encourage that you readers check this out- give some background to the faces under the helmet! https://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/39379858/one-reason-root-every-f1-driver-2024-grid First practices start early morning Thursday PST time. Qualifying early Friday morning PST time, with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday morning PST time. All races will be covered by ESPNU. I will do recaps of the race weekends the following Monday. Most Grand Prix races are on Sundays, so with this first one, I get an extra day! :)
Comments