What sport offers glamourous locations, death-defying speed and ruthless completion? It can only be Formula 1. While most people are fans of the usual sports like basketball and football, Formal 1 has been increasing in popularity, attracting fans from all over the world.
Formula 1, also known as F1, is a racing-style sport which involves 10 teams, two drivers each, going head-to-head in races in over 10 countries and in six out of seven continents. The races, usually held on weekends throughout the season, involve qualifying on Saturday to determine starting positions, and the real race on Sunday. Each year, teams and drivers compete in around 20 grand prix, trying to earn individual and team points from their top 10 finishes. At the end of season, the team with the most points walk away with the Constructor’s Championship, and the driver with the most points is crowned World Champion.
Virginia Delaney (10) enjoys the fast pace of racing and explains how it is unlike watching any other sport.
“Watching racing is very different from other sports because most commercial sports are competed 1v1 but racing has upwards of 20 different racers all working for the same goal of season champion,” Delaney said.
Historically Formula 1 has been dominated by European teams such as Ferrari from Italy and Mercedes from Germany. In recent years, however, American teams like Haas have broken into the scene.
For the last three years, Max Verstappen, a driver for Red Bull’s Formula 1 team, has won the World Championship, with Red Bull winning the Constructors Championship in the last two years. In an interview after his win at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Verstappen explains how proud he is of himself and his team for reaching a special milestone.
“Of course I’m very proud of the achievement, because I think after last year when I won 15, I was like, ‘well if I can ever try to replicate something like that I would be very happy.’ Now we are here with 16, so just very happy with everyone’s performance in the team for the whole year, basically not making a lot of mistakes,” Verstappen said.
One reason for the rise in popularity of Formula 1 is the Netflix series “Drive to Survive.” This show has not only spread Formula 1 into the homes of many viewers around the world, but it has turned the charismatic drivers and teams into celebrities in their own right.
Maddie Winter (11) loves watching Formula 1, as is it allows her to connect with her friends but also compete against them.
“I like Formula 1 because I can watch it with my friends and we can all compete by rooting for the different teams,” Winter said.
Whether one roots for a specific team, loves a certain driver or just enjoys the mechanics of racing, Formula 1 is for everyone and has taken the world by storm.
