Formula One (F1) is an intense form of car racing with twenty drivers and ten teams that has been popular in Europe since the 1950’s. In recent years, its popularity has skyrocketed in America.
Red Bull has begun its chapter of dominance, and F1 is bigger than ever before. Year after year, F1 has been steadily increasing its roster of races, with 2024 slated to host an all-time high of 24 races.
According to ESPN spokesman Andy Hall in an email to NBC News, the sport’s increase in viewership in the U.S. comes as a result of its return to ESPN and ABC in 2018. The Netflix series “Drive to Survive” documents the inner workings of F1 from the previous season, showing the relationships between drivers and teams. The dramatic air of the show sparked interest and added to the popularity of F1. According to a Nielson study, there has been a 10 percent increase of American F1 fans since the release of the first season of “Drive to Survive.” According to the Athletic, out of a survey of 1,900 American adult F1 fans, 53% of them credit Drive to Survive as the reason for watching F1.
Each season of Formula 1, drivers and teams compete for points in an overall championship. In each race, a driver wins points based on their finishing position: 25 for first, and a decreasing amount until the end of the top ten, meaning whoever finishes 11th is awarded no points. Each driver competes based on individual points in the “Drivers Championship.” Since every F1 team has two drivers, the combined points of both drivers contribute towards team points in the “Constructors Championship.” The higher a team places in the championship, the more money and testing time they get to design their car for the following season.
In 2021, there was the creation of a new rivalry that has captivated audiences. Mercedes’ driver Lewis Hamilton had won the previous four World Championships and was favorite to win his fifth straight and eighth total title in 2021. However, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen quickly became a top contender for the title as well. Red Bull had been a previously dominant team, known for their ruthlessness in their management of drivers. In a previous season, they infamously removed driver Pierre Gasly from the team for not performing to the team’s standards.
The season that ensued was one of the most dramatic in F1’s history. The bitter rivalry between Hamilton and Verstappen raised the stakes and led to breakthrough viewership, according to Eurosport. Hamilton and Verstappen battled for first in every race, and the heated competition resulted in dangerous driving at times, causing fans of each team to attack the other on the internet. Verstappen’s rise brought a flare of excitement and uncertainty back to the sport and was a large contributor to its growing popularity across the globe.
At the end of the season, Mercedes won the Constructors Championship, but Hamilton and Verstappen nearly tied in the Drivers Championship. Abu Dhabi 2021 would be the determining race, and Verstappen won on one of the final turns of the closing lap of the race. Mercedes fans went into an uproar, dubbing Verstappen the “human error champion” in their belief that he did not deserve to win the championship.
Verstappen’s win marked an important shift in F1. A non-Mercedes driver had won for the first time in seven years, and this victory marked the beginning of Red Bull’s dominance. Verstappen dominated the 2022 season, winning the Drivers Championship. Thus far in the 2023 season, Red Bull has yet to lose a race, despite being over halfway into the season. Verstappen’s dominance this season is further illustrated in the number of points Red Bull has earned this season. If Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez’s points were removed, Red Bull would still be winning the Constructors Championship.
In the build-up to today, the dynamics of Formula 1 have evolved. Red Bull has begun its chapter of dominance, and F1 is bigger than ever before. Year after year, F1 has been steadily increasing its roster of races, with 2024 slated to host an all-time high of 24 races. The first year of F1 in 1950, there were a mere six races. Due to its unfaltering rise in popularity, F1 is set to continue its expansion, with potential plans to add races into nations such as South Korea and Colombia.
Currently, all of F1 is on a mandatory break, implemented by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Article 21.8 of the FIA F1 sporting regulations states that “all competitors must observe a shutdown period of fourteen (14) consecutive days during the months of July and/or August.” In this period teams are only allowed essential work, such as service or maintenance, but cannot plan or hold meetings.
The next F1 race on the calendar is the Dutch Grand Prix, scheduled for Aug. 27, marking the end of the summer break. Held in the seaside town of Zandvoort in the Netherlands, Circuit Zandvoort was built in 1948 and hosted its first Grand Prix in 1952.
