This was initially written before the 2022 F1 season. Though some of the information on specific teams and the members are out of date, the general information stands.
Yes.
End of the blog post.
But, if you don’t mind staying I’ll give you some things to look out for to get you started.
What is Formula 1 (F1)?
It is a world championship racing series often considered the pinnacle of motorsport. The cars are open-wheel single-seaters and are the most fuel-efficient cars in any motorsport.
Why should I get into F1?
My honest answer is because it is easy. The learning curve is much smaller than in most sports. Everyone can understand the basic concept of a race. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins. Sure, there is a LOT of technical stuff that will happen before, during, and after the race, but that will be learned along the way. There are also only 10 teams with a total of 20 drivers. Not a lot to memorize compared to something like the NFL with 32 teams and each team has 22 people in the starting positions.
Where do I start?
A great place to start is Drive to Survive on Netflix. This is where my wife and I started. It will run you through the 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons, with 2021 soon to come. It will introduce you to some of the teams and drivers and give you a decent crash course into the sport. My only warning is that it is very dramatized and doesn’t give a 100% accurate representation of what happened and even how the drivers feel about the events. If you don’t want to go the Drive to Survive route, the F1 YouTube channel has all the race highlights, tons of driver interviews, looks into the technology of F1, and much more.
Why is the title of this post directed toward Americans?
I only know Americans, so this is mostly for people I know, but beyond that, America doesn’t have a ton of F1 representation. There are no American drivers, there was only one race in America in 2021, and there will be two in 2022. Compared to how many races are in Europe and the Middle East two is nothing for America when looking at the distances fans would have to travel to attend a race. You don’t hear much about F1 in America. F1 wasn’t on any of our stations, and now it is on ESPN, but many races are 9 AM EST/6 AM PST. To be frank, it would be hard to live in PST and watch most races live. But it will get better.
Well, now it sounds like I really shouldn’t get into F1 as an American.
I hear you. It sounds rough, but it is changing. We are getting two races in America next season. Austin, which has been raced at for a while now, and Miami, which will be brand new. F1 as a brand is putting a lot of focus on America because it is such an untapped market for them. There is also so much free content that gets put on YouTube right away to keep up with what is going on. More Americans are getting into the sport, and I feel like it will just snowball. Not to knock on NASCAR, but F1 races are far more exciting. No more “all they do is drive in a circle” jokes. Plus, a lot of exciting changes are going to happen for the 2022 season, so it is almost a fresh start to jump in.
Long story short on the changes, this is considered a new “era” of F1. The car looks a little different. The tyres are different. There are stricter budget caps so top teams can’t just outspend bottom teams.
Okay, I’ll give it a look. But just tell me who I should cheer for.
Awesome! Here is a rundown of who I suggest cheering for as an American.
McLaren would be my first suggestion to cheer for as a newcomer to the sport. They came in 4th place in the Constructors (teams) Championship this year. They have a young star in Lando Norris and a fun-loving veteran in Daniel Ricardo. Though they didn’t do as well as they hoped this season, they show a ton of promise as contenders in 2022. They also are at the forefront of teams looking to gain an American audience. Daniel Ricardo LOVES racing in Austin. He is a big fan of the Texas aesthetic. He will wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots to the race. I think he is also a fan of the Buffalo Bills football team. Lando Norris may be a future World Champion so watching someone grow in the sport and hopefully pay off with a title will be fun. My dad also said, “I’ll just cheer for McLaren because their cars are the easiest to spot.” The orange is definitely one of the more fun colors on the grid.