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Step 1
Check the schedule on one of the main F1 websites (see Resources below) to find out where and when the next race will be. Live television coverage of F1 races can start as late as 3:00 a.m. EST so you may need an alarm clock to watch it live. If you can’t watch the race events live, set your video recorder up, or hope you catch it on demand or replay.
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Step 2
Make sure you watch the qualifying session because the action is absolutely top-rate, and sometimes has more excitement than the actual race. There are 3 rounds to qualifying, designated Q1, Q2 and Q3. Q1 lasts 20 minutes and allows all cars on the track simultaneously to make fast lap attempts. The slowest 6 entries of 22 (or 7 cars of the maximum entry of 24) are eliminated at the end of the round; they're placed at the end of the starting grid in order of lap times. Q2 lasts 15 minutes and again lets all the remaining drivers compete for fastest lap, eliminating the slowest six (or seven) cars. The remaining 10 drivers compete in the 10-minute Q3 round for the top ten grid positions. The cars start Q3 with their race fuel load and are not refueled after the qualifying round is finished.
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Step 3
Enjoy the start and first lap of the race because they’re action-packed. After a formation lap, the drivers take their positions on the starting grid. The race starts when the five starting lights go red one at a time, stay on briefly then go out. All 22 to 24 cars make a mad burnout to the first corner from a standing start, which usually results in some kind of mayhem in the first turn. Many Formula One races are restarted after massive crashes at the first turn. After surviving the first lap, dominant teams commonly drive off and leave the competition behind; so don’t miss the start!
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Step 4
Watch for action in the pits when there isn’t much happening on the track. Passing is difficult on many of the F1 circuits, which shifts a lot of the race strategy to pit stops. Pit stops are blindingly fast in F1 because there is no limit on number of pit crew workers and the cars have built-in jacks which allows all 4 tires to be changed simultaneously. Teams can choose how many pit stops to make during a race, ranging from 1 stop to 3, typically. On a 1-stop strategy, the car will have to run a heavy fuel load for a lot of laps, and will also run longer on worn tires, but will save the 25 seconds or so that it takes for a pit stop, including entry and exit time. Teams usually elect to take 2 pit stops and try to optimize fuel weight and tire changes.
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Step 5
Watch pit stops for tire strategy. Every car has to run both a hard and soft tire compound during the race, unless wet-weather tires are needed. Hard-compound tires usually produce slower lap times and would typically be run between the first and second pit stops; so the car can run the stickier tires at the start and finish of the race. The soft-compound tires can be recognized by a white stripe around the tire tread.
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Step 6
Watch for the finishing position of the first 8 cars/drivers, because those are the only ones that will score any Championship points. Unlike the thousands of points awarded in NASCAR races, Formula One races award 10 points for a win, 8 points for second, 6 for third, and then 5-4-3-2-1 points for fourth through eighth place. This system places a great premium on finishing "on the podium" in one of the first three positions.
