Formula One Beginner’s Guide: History, format, tyres & more

Formula 1 continues to enjoy a surge in popularity with an increasing number of viewers tuning in to watch the pinnacle of motorsport.

An epic title battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021, coupled with Netflix's hit F1 documentary ‘Drive to Survive' have done wonders for the sport's image and means many are giving it a try.

First-time viewers of F1 may be left scratching their heads as to how the sport works and the technical language that accompanies it.

Therefore, we've endeavoured to put together a guide to F1 to make sure everyone watching is up to speed by the time the lights go out.

History of Formula 1

When was the first F1 race?

F1 was an evolution of the European Motor Racing Championships that ran in the 1920s and 1930s, coming into existence in 1946 when a new ‘formula' or rules for racing was established.

The first F1 race, the Turin Grand Prix, was held that year, while the inaugural Drivers' World Championship was staged in 1950. The Constructors' Championship, awarded to the team with the most points at the end of the season, was introduced in 1958.

Who was the first F1 World Champion?

Giuseppe "Nino" Farina was the first Formula 1 World Champion, claiming three victories on his way to pipping Juan Manuel Fangio to the title in 1950.

Who is the most successful F1 driver in history?

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in F1 history having recorded the most wins (105), while he is perched alongside the great Michael Schumacher for most titles (7).

F1 Drivers' Championship previous winners

Who is the most successful F1 team in history?

The oldest constructor on the grid, Ferrari are by far the most successful team in F1 history with 16 titles.

F1 Constructors' Championship previous winners

How many drivers are on the F1 grid? 

F1 is currently permitted to have up to 26 cars on the track at one time. The current edition has 20 drivers competing.

How many teams are on the F1 grid? 

A total of 10 teams make up the current Formula 1 grid, with each team fielding two cars. In 2026, that number will rise to 11 teams and a total of 22 cars.

You can view the full 2025 F1 grid here, including all 10 teams and 20 drivers.

Why is it called Formula 1?

When the concept of Formula 1 was first considered in 1946, the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale) felt the word 'formula' best summarised a racing division given it can denote elements such as car design and engine size.

Despite the initial suggestion of naming it 'Formula A', organisers ultimately decided '1' would be a more fitting title to acknowledge it was the premier class of motor racing.

What is the difference between F1 & the FIA?

The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) is the governing body for motorsport, with Formula 1 one of the many classifications they preside over.

Learn more about FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Where does F1 race?

One of the key elements of Formula 1 which makes it attractive to a global audience is that races are staged across the world.

The sport has expanded to 21 countries across five continents, including Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania, while there are several races in the Middle East including UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

View the 2025 F1 schedule in full

How does an F1 Grand Prix weekend work?

An F1 Grand Prix weekend takes place over three days and typically consists of three practice sessions, qualifying and the race itself.

How does F1 practice work?

Teams traditionally get two one-hour practice sessions on a Friday to study how the car is performing on a track and make setup adjustments.

There's a third one-hour practice session on Saturday morning where teams are able to make final tweaks to the car before parc fermé rules - which prevents teams from making changes between qualifying and the race - are applied.

How does F1 qualifying work?

Qualifying for the race is traditionally held on a Saturday afternoon and is used to determine the grid for the race.

Qualifying is split into three phases - Q1, Q2 and Q3 - with the five slowest drivers being eliminated in Q3, five more bowing out in Q2 before the final ten battle it out for pole position. 

Pole goes to the driver who sets the fastest time in Q3 and means they start at the front of the grid on race day, followed by the next fastest driver and so on.

How does an F1 race work?

The race itself is then held on Sunday and usually lasts just under two hours.

Drivers compete over the least number of laps that exceed 305 kilometres, except in Monaco, where the distance is reduced to 260km.

What adds to the strategic element of an F1 race is pit stops. Every driver must complete one mandatory pit stop where they must use at least two dry tyre compounds in Grand Prix, if the conditions are dry.

The objective of every driver is to win, although points are on offer for drivers that finish 10th and above.

What is the F1 Sprint?

The Sprint is a short race which covers 100km, which is roughly one-third of a typical Grand Prix distance and lasts roughly 30 minutes.

How does the F1 Sprint work?

First introduced in July 2021 for the British Grand Prix, the Sprint has been an exciting addition to the Formula 1 race weekend.

Only select venues are chosen to host a Sprint event, with the tracks selected all boasting excellent overtaking potential. In 2025, there will be six Sprints held across the year.

A Sprint weekend is different to a traditional Grand Prix weekend as Free Practice Two is replaced by a Sprint qualifying session, which sets the grid for the Sprint race.

The Sprint itself replaces the Free Practice Three session on the second day, preceding qualifying for the Grand Prix on the same day.

How does the F1 Drivers' Championship work?

The Drivers' Championship is one of two world championships contested in F1 and is awarded to the driver with the most points at the end of the season.

Points are accrued in races, with a maximum of 25 points on offer to the winner of each Grand Prix. There are additional points on offer in Sprint races and for achieving the fastest lap.

An F1 driver could be crowned world champion before the end of the campaign providing it's no longer mathematically possible for anyone else to overtake them, but they must wait until the end of the season to receive the prestigious World Drivers' Championship Trophy.

Find out all of the key details on the F1 points system here.

How does the F1 Constructors' Championship work?

Each team will enter two cars for the season and the points tallies of a team's two cars - not drivers - are added together to determine the Constructors' Championship.

The reason why it's not just two drivers is because teams are permitted to use up to four drivers over the course of the season, and their driver line-up may be subject to change midway through the campaign.

At the end of the season, the team with the most combined points from their two cars are crowned world champions.

How do Formula 1 cars work?

A combination of precision engineering, aerodynamic proficiency and cutting-edge technology, F1 cars are some of the fastest and most advanced racing cars produced.

Comprising of several thousand parts including suspension elements, paddle shift gearboxes, turbo-hybrid power units and some of the most complex bodywork designs, F1 cars defy the laws of physics to produce cars which can attack corners at breathtaking speeds.

Cars feature a front wing and a rear wing which help to create downforce and push the car down onto the track, with the engine in the middle providing the power to push it forward.

F1’s 2026 Rules & Regulation Changes

How are F1 cars powered?

2025 F1 cars possess complex power units which drive the car forward.

Powered by a 1.6-litre V6 turbo engine with hybrid technology, power units consist of elements such as the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), turbocharger and energy store (ES).

How do F1 pit stops work?

Such is the speed of a pit stop in modern Formula 1, you dare not blink or you will miss it.

An integral feature of a team's strategy in F1, a pit stop involves a highly-trained crew of mechanics working on their car as quickly as possible in a designated pit box area.

Tyre changes are the most common process in a pit stop but mechanics are able to perform mechanical repairs and adjustments where necessary.

The fastest pit stop ever recorded is 1.88 seconds.

How do tyres work in F1?

The tyres used in F1 are nothing like those fitted to an ordinary car with official tyre supplier Pirelli designing them to last between only 60 to 120 kilometres.

That means teams tend to have to make at least one pit stop per race due to degradation, a term used to describe a tyre losing its performance or grip.

There are six different types of tyres available, ranging from the C0 compound which are the hardest and longest lasting tyres, but also the slowest, to the fast but short-lived C5.

Pirelli will make available three of the six compounds for each race: one hard, one medium and one soft set.

The tyre compounds are colour-coded so viewers can tell the difference with the hardest compound marked in white, the medium compound yellow and the softest tyre red.

There are also two sets of wet weather tyres - green-marked intermediate and blue-marked wet tyres.