Formula 1, Explained for Rookies

F1 isn’t just a car race. It’s a science experiment.
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You’ve been hearing about F1 too, right? Formula 1 is skyrocketing in popularity in the US, driven in part by the Netflix series Drive To Survive. In this video, we’ll break down exactly what you need to know to keep up with this crazy, expensive sport everyone’s suddenly obsessed with. But we’ll also take a deeper look at the big (HUGE*!) question here, which is: Why do this? Why pour so much money, so many bright minds, so much technological effort into F1… into entertainment?

The answer is in what we get in return. Formula 1 is much more than a car race. It’s a space program, for the road.

Chapters:
00:00 Why is F1 so popular right now?
01:32 Is F1 worth it?
02:09 WTF is F1?
04:15 How does an F1 race work?
04:57 How does F1 scoring work?
05:36 How does an F1 car work?
07:39 What does an F1 team cost?
08:44 Do F1 teams make money?
09:40 Is F1 wasteful?
10:15 Why is F1 a science experiment?
11:23 Does F1 tech help road cars… really?
13:12 What is the future of F1?
13:56 Help :)

Important note (because I never want you to be confused about whether something is sponsored): The Mercedes F1 Team did not pay me or give me a ticket to the Miami Grand Prix. They did however let me into their garage, for which I am very grateful! I’m a huge fan!

Thanks to Johnny Harris for helping me shape this story early on, and to Toni Cowan-Brown for taking the time to look at a cut of this video. It means a lot to be supported by fellow producers!

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Additional reading and watching:

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed

—
Welcome to the joke down low (an idea 100% in reference to Answer In Progress’ awesome “joke below the fold” - I always scroll down to see them and always wanted to do this myself too):

What do we want?
Formula 1!
When do we want it?
NEEEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWW

Find a way to use the word “neeeeooowwww” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one ;)

[alalo]

Me: i've been watching F1 my whole life
Also me: lets watch f1 explained for rookies :D

[AllieOk]

I'm Italian. For us, F1 is the second most popular sport after football (or soccer, for americans), especially during the years Ferrari does well lol
Seeing how much the popularity of F1 has increased outside of Europe in the past years has been crazy. It makes me really happy honestly

[jameshall]

I have seen numerous physicists like Neil deGrass Tyson comment on how physicists usually make the discoveries in science then simply leave them on the table. It is then engineers who often find ways to make amazing things with these discoveries. Worth pointing out that new non-moving wind turbine generators were designed using the air foil from F1 cars for the design concept.

[Leka]

"It's the sport for nerds" is such an insightful and accurate way to describe F1!

[JK-tjie]

The joy she has when talking about F1 shows her passion to the sport and makes the video so great to watch

[extra-dry]

The $140M budget cap, does not include the two drivers salaries, and the top 3 principals of the team. Those 5 individuals can easily be another $140M. Travel costs, marketing, entry and licensing fees, etc., are not incuded. The engines also have their own separate cost budgets since some teams build their own, while others buy them.

[davideloi]

I'm european and I've been watching F1 since the last 80s, when I was a kid. I love to see your enthusiasm and passion! Long live F1 (and Charles Leclerc)

[alexlamas]

I'm an American who's been watching F1 for 40 years... I have to say you've explained F1 magnificently and it reminds me of the many things I say to explain F1 to my American friends.

[itmethang]

For those who don’t know about why they change tires so fast :
First we have to talk about the tires there are 5 sets of tires, Soft(S), Medium(M), Hard(H), Intermediate(I) and Wet(W) [They are actually more tires like the Ultra Soft (US), Super Soft (SS)]
Intermediate and Wet are for when the track is wet or if it’s raining. Soft is a type of tires you will be seen a lot because of the grip of the tires are the best. Medium are the less grip but more efficient tires and Medium are like the balance of Soft and Hard, using when it is around lap 10-20 of the race. Hard are the most efficient because it can be used for long amount of time. (Soft, Medium and Hard are a type of tires called Slick tires which stuck to the track more than regular tires.) Intermediate are used for light rain on the track commonly seen at the pitstop when it’s about to rain. Wet are for storm or heavy rain (nothing special for wet tires to be honest).
Now we can talk about the pitstop.
Pitstop are very fast in F1, some may take just 1.98 second, some 14+ second because of changes of front wings.
There are 18 crews on 1 stop in a pitstop
1 for wing installer, 1 for front jack, 1 for rear jack, 2 for wing cleaner, 4 for tire installer, 4 for tire remover, 4 for tire changer with an powerful tire gun which spins 3000 rpm, 1 for fire extinguisher man. The tire changer, tire installer and tire remover are the main key to fast pitstop, they are trained to be fast at pitstop like the Oracle RedBull Racing Team which held the world record for the fastest time in a pitstop of 1.82 second in 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.

[zaemaim]

As an american who is just now getting into F1, ive started watching it because i work night shift at a hospital, and on my off days i kept seeing it on tv late at night, slowly ive started to get into it, trying to learn as much as i can. F1 helps me stay awake on my off nights lol. This video was so helpful, thank you!

[fsubiabrea]

You have gained a new subscriber.

The explanation and passion in your video is aligned with my motivation to follow every race weekend for years. Great explanation, incredible graphics and logical sequence of information that can engage new engineering-technology-motor sport rockies.

Congratulations and I want to see other videos from your channel.

[jesperst]

I work in the Aero dept at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. Your video is pretty cool, it's good to see when someone explains how F1 can help by developing new technologies and improving existing ones. Just wanted to add a small detail. It's not just the car manufacturing that we can improve. During the worst days of covid, we designed and manufactured tens of thousands of breathing aid kits, that can help people who otherwise would need a ventillator (which usually doesn't end up well). We haven't just designed and manufactured the kit, Merc also released the design and made it available for FREE so other companies can also manufacture as many as possible. ;) Great channel, keep up with the good stuff! Ohh, of course I subscribed ;)

[olivergraves]

It's so endearing watching Americans discover F1

[natasha_b]

Finally 😭 youtube knows im so confused about everyone beinf obsessed with F1 rn- so this popped up on my recommendation

[WdyWP]

VERY well put together video! So cool of you to put this out!!! Bringing F1 to more folks (to become fans).

I've been watching F1 since the 70's. Thank goodness it is easy to get live streaming of the weekend's events.

Drive to Survive is pulling in a lot of folks, but at the same time I feel as though it is putting more glitse than race into their focus which is turning F1 to be more about $$$ than the actual sport of racing.

[kalpit]

"That's very unfair, but okay"
Man that hits right in the feels

[TohirT]

Ive watched F1 for 20+ years now and this has been one of the best “love letters” to the sport. Bravo, Cleo!

[ebsmith]

Like many of the other commentators, I am not an F1 "rookie" but was still very impressed by the quality of your video. I would love to see a "part 2" project focused on the actual driving: the speed, g force, braking points, overtakes, driving lines, grip (tires), proximity of the "space ships" in a wheel-to-wheel battle, oversteer/understeer. With your creativity, knowledge, hard work and passion for F1 it would be an awesome video.

[Mr.Snow...]

The quality of this content is amazing. It is rare to see this quality anywhere. Really great work from a content-creating aspect. I did not cross-reference facts but it also seems accurate from my basic understanding of F1. Keep up the good work and all the best to your channel.

[ryankerschner]

Being a crazy F1 fan, I can say I really appreciate how you presented this. Well done.