A Quick Introduction to Formula 1

Formula 1 racing is the most technologically advanced form of motor racing in the world. Teams and Drivers compete around the world in a driver's championship and constructor's championship. F1 is the most expensive form of racing, Toyota and Ferrari spent around $400 Million each last year on their teams, by comparison a top ranked NASCAR team might spend $30 Million.

Drivers

F1 drivers have a physically demanding job that requires skill, bravery and endurance. The drivers are subjected to enourmous G loads (5G Decel, 3G Lateral, 2-3 G Accel) and they must precisely pilot their cars lap after lap over demanding circuits. F1 drivers are some of the highest paid atheletes in the world (Micheal Schumacher makes close to $100 Million a year).

Teams

For most of F1's history, each team has entered two cars into each race. Unlike some other series, the cars are not identical, each team produces their own chassis in some cases a team will buy their engines from another team. The cars are supposed to be equaly prepared.There are vast differences in the performance of different teams, this makes it very dificult to compare the performance of drivers to their competitors. The best way to compare a driver is to compare him to his team mate that is why I made the Team Mate Comparator.

Races

F1 races are held in countries all over the world, the sport has historical roots in Europe. The cars qaulify on Saturday, the driver setting the fastest lap in Qaulifying gets the pole position. On Sunday, the cars start from a dead stop, ordered in their qaulifying position. The first lap is very hectic with a lot of passing, after the first lap there is little passing in a race. At different times in its history, F1 has allowed pitstops for fuel and or tires. A fastest lap in the tables on this site refers to the fastest lap time set in a race by any driver.

Point Systems And Championships

F1 has used 24 different point systems since 1950. There were 3 main scoring systems that dictated how points were assigned for a given race. There were many more systems that laid out how season totals and champions were decided.

Point System	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	Fastest Lap
Real Old F1	8	6	4	3	2	0	0	0	1
Old F1	9	6	4	3	2	1	0	0	0
90's F1	10	6	4	3	2	1	0	0	0
Current F1	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	0

The point summation systems would take the highest scores of the season, allowing a driver to throw out some lower scores. Sometimes they would take the highest scores from the first couple of races of the season, and the highest scores from the last races also. Read more here List of Formula 1 Point Systems Wikipedia