By Robert Nowinski
Formula 1, AKA: F1, is one of the more well- known racing sports, taking place every year at tracks around the world. One thing a lot of people talk about is how boring it is because it involves drivers just going around in a circle/oval shape track for 2 hours. However, there is more to it than just going around a track, and I will show you exactly that.
Firstly, the tracks themselves are actually pretty exciting. They have sharp turns and some are street tracks, which means the country will close a section of roads and build a temporary track. This means the track being “oval” is a misconception.
Secondly, these tracks are around the world. In the 2025 season, the racers will go to 21 countries across 5 continents. From Melbourne, Australia to Miami, Florida, all the way to Sao Paulo, Brazil and Spielberg, Austria, these tracks show off the beauty of the accompanying country.
Another track related thing I learned was about the Japanese GP a few weeks ago. The track’s grass caught fire 5 separate times from sparks, which brought out 5 red flags across both practice sessions. Lovely for entertainment.
The drivers and teams are one of the biggest parts of the sport, and what goes great in competition? Drama. For example, on May 1st, 2025, we had Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercades, almost the whole grid had new team compositions (rookies mean a whole lot of crashes and a new person to root for), Max Verstappen is now aiming to get 5 championships in a row while Hamilton is a going for 8, but it’s not looking great for either of them because McLaren drivers, Piastri and Norris, are winning most of the races so far.
Drivers bring a heap of drama along with then. For example, Liam Lawson after just a few races was demoted from the main Red Bull team and sent to the Jr. team called, and I quote, “Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.” A wonderful name that can be shortened to VCARB—rolls of the tongue much better. In his place, they finally promoted Yuki Tsunoda in his home race of Japan. He did pretty ok, getting 12th by the race’s end.
Focusing on more trackside drama, we have the wonders that are the team’s radio conversations. Whether it’s people complaining about the car, talking about how the race is going, or people raging, there is usually something interesting being said. For example, this absolute wonder from Ferrari from the Australian Grand Prix:
Leclerc: “Is there a leakage?”
Team: “A leakage of what?”
Leclerc: “I have a seat full of water, like full of water.”
Team: “Must be the water.”
Leclerc: “Let’s add that to the words of wisdom.”
I am not the only one here that thinks the race is interesting. Our chemistry/AP chemistry teacher here at BHS, Kevin Sinats, watches the race with his family (Including 2 small children, one of which is 3 and likes watching the cars zoom). Sinatz states that he likes “… the story that develops over the season [and too see] if the same team is able to keep winning or if another team will overtake. I like the surprise of a team that usually never wins, and then they randomly get a podium. Since it’s so predictable, when the unpredictable happens it’s fun…”
We can’t have a driving sport without crashes and failures. In the 1st race of the 2025 season alone, Isack Hadjar crashed on the formation lap, and a safety car was brought out. Jack Doohan and Carlos Sainz decided it would be a great time to spin out, both crashing into the sidewalls. Later in the race, on lap 34, after going too fast around a turn, Fernado Alonso lost traction, did a 180, and crashed into the barrier. Next to leave was Gabriel Bortoleto on lap 46. He had recently changed to intermediate tires, which should be used in damp but drying weather. The track was way too slick, so he spun out and crashed into the wall. The 7th driver to not finish was Liam Lawson who made the same mistake as Bortoleto and used tires for a dry track while the track was still too slippery, causing him to spin out. (No one suffered any serious injuries.) This was all on the 1st race of the season, by the way.
A more entertaining part is, interestingly enough, the off season. The off season has interviews, events, the drivers doing stuff like Sim racing, playing games, and just hanging out. This often helps viewers feel more attached to certain drivers, making it easy to root for their favorites during races. Netflix also has Drive to Survive, which is a series that focuses on different drivers and teams, and it releases towards the end of the off season. The show allows viewers to discover other stuff not covered in the typical broadcasting during the season.
F1 isn’t always boring, even if people complain about it always being boring. There is a decent amount of different things that are all interesting. But it also depends on why you watch or don’t watch it. One last bit of advice, if you are getting bored of watching the same top 5, start looking at places 6-12. It can get pretty heated back there!
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