Formula 1 cars are the world's fastest regulated road-course racing automobiles. F1 is the highest international level of open-wheel racing, with 10 teams of two drivers who compete in Grands Prix from March through December at circuits across five continents.
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Watching a Formula 1 race today is an immersive experience: Every car has onboard cameras; there are helicopter, drone, and lift shots; nearly every corner has a camera to document drivers jockeying for position; and over 120 cameras are used to film a single race.
Roughly 16 people cooperate in a highly coordinated sequence of events to swap tires mid-race without losing the driver any time. Watch a slowed-down explanation of each person's job in the crucial pit lane moment.
The country's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has argued that embracing sports and tourism will diversify the Saudi economy away from a dependency on oil. Critics argue the events are being used to distract from the regime's human rights violations.
F1 racing cars go over 200 mph, making fatal crashes inevitable throughout its history. Car models have changed many times to make them safer, but the sport has never adopted a closed cockpit, a perhaps obvious solution to protecting drivers from fast-flying debris. Instead, F1 cars have a halo-shaped top, which helps cool drivers, allow for quick escape, and more. Watch a breakdown here.
Only one team can win it all each season, which means the majority of fans are disappointed. This bot mines the data on how your teams have performed in recent years and measures your misery index (the higher, the more miserable).
Using rules regarding crashes that require all drivers to slow down (and often take a pit stop), floundering Team Renault asked Nathan Pinquet, Jr., to crash to help teammate Fernando Alonso win. The scheme worked, but when the team fired Pinquet a year later, he revealed the conspiracy, dubbed "Crashgate."
Enzo Ferrari was an Italian race car driver turned team organizer, eventually going on to form his own team, Scuderia Ferrari, one of the sport's legendary organizations. Today's brand's reputation is a legacy of the founder's singular obsession with creating the best cars and finding the best talent.
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