Formula 1 : A quick guide
The first ever organised championship was the European drivers championship, where the size and weight of the car as well as engine power and other limitations were set for participating cars. These technical limitations were put in place to prevent unfair competition for when one car would have significant advancements compared to others.
Formula 1 is the highest class of international auto racing for single-seater racing cars, organised by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) founded 116 years ago in France. It all started when motor vehicles were getting increasingly powerful and people wanted to drive faster and faster. However, this was put on hold for World War 2 for obvious reasons. The FIA started hosting race competitions again in 1946.
Rules of the sport
This video gives a good starting point, explaining the basic rules of F1.
Drivers
You can create a ranking based on positions or points below to get more acquainted with the various drivers throughout history.
Ranking of drivers
Select a period between 1950 and 2020 to study the drivers' performance of a specific period. The podium positions, distibution and points are related to this selected period (not his/her general career).
Select a comparison metric:
You can edit the drivers default drivers below
Comparing the skills between the selected drivers
The graph below can be used to get an idea of how good a certain driver is. The skill rating is calculated using TrueSkill. In essence, this metric estimates the skill based on achieved positions in every race the driver participated in. More information on how this is calculated in detail can be found via the link.
[Change the drivers in the list above to choose who will be compared in this plot]
Constructors
Constructors in Formula 1 are people or corporate entities who design key parts of Formula 1 cars that have competed or are intended to compete in the FIA World Championship. These are often very well known car brands. Each constructor participates in a race with 2 drivers. These drivers will be using the same car model. In order to get to know these constructors, a ranking similar to the driver ranking is shown below.
Ranking of constructors
The points of a constructor are calculated as the sum of all points drivers have been awarded when racing for the constructor.
Select a period between 1950 and 2020 to study the constructor' performance. The podium positions, distibution and points are related to this selected period (not the general career).
Select a comparison metric:
You can edit the default constructors below
Importance of a driver for a constructor
Currently, the rules state that there are 10 teams competing every year. Each team, or more specifically constructor, has two drivers using the same type of car. Each constructor must prove that they have built the car. In most team sports, teammates are there to help you out and to support you. In Formula 1, this is rarely the case. The rivalry between teammates is fierce as the two cars are exactly the same and therefore comparable. It is here that we can see the differences in skill between the drivers. In the end, only one of the cars can win, and so the team will only have one strategy. The teams will have to pick the driver in the most favorable position in order to win the race and maximize the points.
In this graph we zoom in on the constructors who have received first place in a race. Change the years to analyse different periods. Hover over a colored section for more information on which driver gained how many points specifically.
In this graph, you can see that some excellent drivers make up a large chunk of the winning counts. Michael Schumacher won 28% of the total wins for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton 63% for Mercedes. You may alo note that 4 constructors are highly outperforming the others.
Technology
As the stakes of winning are high, each constructor does everything within its power to significantly advance their cars to give their drivers a better chance of winning. Even with detailed descriptions on how the car should be designed, there are still plenty of techniques and technologies to puzzle together to build the most performant F1 racing car.
Take for example the power units/engines. As of 2020, there are only 4 big power suppliers in F1 who design and manufacture their own power unit: Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Honda. Honda is a special case, as it does not participate in the races itself and it only produce for other constructors. Other constructors are usually customers of these 4 power suppliers. This is the reason why you frequently see 2 parts in the team names in the constructor standing, for example McLaren-Renault. The first part stands for the constructor name and the last part always mentions the power unit provider.
Purchasing your power engine from a manufacturer has the benefit that it is lower in cost as no internal research is needed. The drawback however is that the chassis-power unit integration is more difficult if you have less control over the specifics of the engine. Since most advancements in racing cars are made in the aerodynamics and engine department, it is crucial to keep this trade-off in mind. In the plot below, this is clearly illustrated.
Choose years between 2010 and 2020. Hover over the bars to see at which years certain points were awarded.
Here you can see the constructors standings between 2010 and 2020. Important to remember is that Honda does not participate in the races but solely produces power units. Ferrari and Mercedes are known to highly benefit from customizing and optimizing their chassis-power engine combination throughout the years. Renault is not quite comparable in success rate and does not outperform the other constructors which it produces for.
Problems with rule changes
Throughout the years, Formula 1 has known different eras of teams.
This is mainly caused by the changing set of technical regulations, which can make or break an entire team.
In the last decade, only 2 teams have won the constructor's championship and only 3 different drivers won a driver's
championship. Sebastian Vettel dominated from 2010 to 2013 until the regulations changed
in 2014. Mercedes unleashed its powerhouse power unit which was overall unstoppable with Lewis Hamilton
shining, only to be interrupted in 2016 by his teammate Nico Rosberg in the twin car.
The points system has also gone through quite a few changes.
In the table below, you can see how many points were awarded to drivers for finishing in a certain position,
depending on the period. The last column indicates how many points a driver earns on top of his regular points
by achieving the fastest lap time (given that he/she finished in the top 10).
| year | 1st | 2nd | 3nd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1959 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 1960-1990 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1961 | 8/9(*) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1962-1990 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1991-2002 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2003-2009 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 2010-2018 | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 2010-2020 | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
*In 1961 they used a system where drivers received 9 points for first places, whereas constructors only received 8.
What you can conclude from this, is that different years in Formula 1 cannot be easily compared. There is no guarantee that the winner of the previous year will remain the best. Comparing drivers based on their total amount of points accumulated during their career can also be misleading, as more points are awarded for similar achievements in later years. Using the amount of wins or podium positions is a more correct approach for this.
World map of circuits
Formula 1 races are held all over the world. Up to 20 races take place in different circuits every year, if the circumstances allow it. There are currently 76 racing circuits, but not all have been used equally. Multiple reasons can be found for this: financial issues can stall the circuit being ready to use, or COVID can prevent races taking place entirely. To conclude the introduction, you can find where all the races took place in the below map. Click on a country to zoom in, and click on a circuit to find more information about it, such as who won in which year.