Pole Position

The aim of this blog is to try to make Formula 1 racing more accessible to the average person, particularly the American who is not familiar with the series. I will attempt to explain things at a very basic level; to try to make the technical sophistication of F1 understandable without any special knowledge. We'll see how it goes!

Let's start with what makes F1 special. At first glance, an F1 car looks just like an Indy (IRL) car or Champ car (CART). There are lots of similarities. All are single-seaters, have open wheels, have the engine behind the driver, and have front and rear wings. However, the similarities end there. F1 cars are the most sophisticated and most expensive race cars on the planet… and I'll attempt to explain why.

F1 has always been an 'open' series, meaning inside of the rules, you can build whatever you want. Over the years these rules have become more and more restrictive. However, unlike Champ car where all the cars are the same, each team in F1 generally designs and builds its own car.