A newbie's guide to F1

There’s a week to go before the third Grand Prix of the year is flags off, and with six former World Champions lining up on the grid, you could hardly find a better time to start following Formula One.

Now, for a brief introduction to how Formula One works. Formula One is all about the design of the car – the better designed and more aerodynamic the car, the higher are the chances that it will win. Of course, a skilled driver also has his role to play in leading the car to a good time. And, usually, the best drivers aim to drive for the best constructors who aim to find the best drivers (it’s a cycle!). The constructors are responsible for building and designing the chassis (body) of the car and this is important since in Formula One, a good design can allow a constructor to dominate the results. The most successful constructors since the beginning of Formula One are Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, Lotus. Last season, Red Bull-Renault’s car design allowed them to dominate the grid and they went on to take the Constructor’s Championship by more than a hundred points margin over second place finishers McLaren-Mercedes.

Every season, drivers battle it out for the World Drivers’ Championship as well. This season, the drivers have among them six former champions including multi-time winners Michael “Schumi” Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and defending champion Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton (2008), Jenson Button (2009) and Kimi “The Iceman” Raikonnen (2007) – making his return to Formula One – complete the illustrious list. Each constructor is allowed to have two cars (and therefore two drivers per race) on the starting grid. After completing three grueling qualifying sessions ,to decide who gets pole position (first spot on the starting grid for the final race), the drivers line-up for the crucial race on the very next day. Most races are scheduled on weekends. The 2012 season has 20 Grand Prix races.

Front runners

Sebastian Vettel, racing for Red Bull-Renault, managed to clinch the 2010 title in the last race of the season and went on to completely dominate the 2011 season, establishing himself as the youngest double World Champion in Formula One history. Fernando Alonso races for the traditional heavyweight in racing - Ferrari – but the poor design of their cars have affected his performance for the last couple of seasons. This season, however, with the Malaysian Grand Prix starting under stormy conditions, Alonso’s driving skills have allowed him to clinch the lead in the race for the World Drivers’ Championship. Fourteen drivers have already picked up points this season (after two races) and the season looks set for a good fight to the finish.

Points system

The newly adopted points system (since the 2010 season) awards 25 points to 1st place, 18 to 2nd and 15 to 3rd. The points awarded decreases with position till 10th position (1 point). Drivers that finish lower than 10th place receive no points for the race. Constructors receive the sum of the points that their drivers have earned in a race.

There’s a lot more to cover – stewards, tracks, team strategies – but for a newbie, you must already have your hands full.

So, that’s it! That’s all you need to know to dive into Formula One.