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Formula 1 explained: the complete beginner's guide

Updated October 15, 2026 · The Grid Editorial Team

If you got into Formula 1 through Drive to Survive, you already know the drama. This guide covers the part the show skips: how the sport actually works.

What is Formula 1?

Formula 1 (F1) is the highest level of single-seater racing. The “formula” is the rulebook every car must follow. The governing body, the FIA, writes the rules. Formula One Group runs the commercial side.

Every team designs and builds its own car within those rules. That’s the big difference from many other series: the car matters as much as the driver. A great driver in a slow car rarely wins.

Teams and drivers

There are 11 teams in 2026, each with two drivers: McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas, Audi, Alpine and newcomer Cadillac.

Teammates drive identical cars. That makes your teammate the one rival you can compare yourself with directly. It’s why teammate battles get so tense (and why the show loves them).

The season

A season is a series of Grands Prix (races). Each one is held over a full weekend, with practice, qualifying and the race itself. See how a race weekend works.

At each race, the top 10 finishers score points. Points add up across the season into two championships:

• Drivers’ Championship: the individual title, won by the driver with the most points. The winner is the World Champion.
• Constructors’ Championship: the team title. Both drivers’ points count, and so does the prize money.

More in how F1 points work.

What actually decides a race?

Four things, roughly in this order:

1. The car. Aerodynamics, the power unit and how kind the car is to its tyres.
2. Qualifying. Starting at the front is a huge advantage, because passing is hard. See qualifying explained.
3. Strategy. When to pit and which tyres to use. See pit stops and tyres.
4. The driver. Racecraft, consistency and making no mistakes over two hours.

2026 is a reset year

New cars, new engines and new terms (Boost, Overtake Mode, Active Aero) arrived this season. If commentary sounds different from what you saw on Netflix, that’s why. Read the 2026 rules explained.

Your first race: what to watch

• The start. Five red lights come on, then go out. Most positions change in the first two corners.
• The gaps. TV graphics show the time between cars. A shrinking gap means a fight is coming.
• The pit stops. Teams change all four tyres in about 2–3 seconds. Timing them well can win a race.
• The team radio. Drivers and engineers talking strategy in real time, often in code (“box, box” means pit now).

Sources: Formula 1: 2026 calendar announcement

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