Overtakers · Season 1, Episode 3

Intro to F1 in 2 Laps

A speed-run through Formula 1 — history, schedule, teams, points, tires, and the race-weekend format — paced to fit in the time it takes Valtteri Bottas to complete two laps at Bahrain.

Released Feb 22, 2026 4:23 runtime Watch on YouTube ↗

Overtakers S1E3 thumbnail

4:23

01Welcome

Today I'm going to give you an intro to Formula 1 racing. If you saw the Cadillac F1 commercial in the Super Bowl and wanted to learn what the excitement is about — or really if you're just interested in following F1 — this video is for you.

Sean Gleason opens S1E3, an intro to Formula 1 racing — 0:15 Sean opens the explainer. The brief: cover all of F1 fast enough to fit a self-imposed time budget.

If you measure in money, F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport — the most technologically advanced cars, the biggest budgets, the highest-paid drivers, and the fastest pit stops. Formula 1 is definitely about going fast, so I'm going to hold myself to the same standard.

Team Cadillac had an enormously impressive showing at preseason testing in Bahrain, with the fastest lap going to Valtteri Bottas at 1 minute 36 seconds. So I'm going to give you my intro to F1 in the time it took Valtteri to do 2 laps at Bahrain. (Fear face.)

Let's go.

An F1 car at speed on track — 0:34 The clock starts.

02Where F1 Came From

Formula 1 was created in 1946, when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile — the FIA — published the rules for its first championship, which happened in 1950 at the famous and revered Silverstone circuit in England.

Black-and-white historical photo of an early Silverstone Grand Prix — 0:52 The 1950 era — the first season of what would become Formula 1.

03The 2026 Season

The schedule for the 2026 season includes 24 Grand Prix races and 6 Sprints at 24 global locations. These races span 21 countries across 5 continents, making Formula 1 a truly global motorsport.

2026 F1 race calendar showing rounds 3-18 with country flags and dates — 1:13 The 2026 calendar — 24 rounds, 21 countries, 5 continents. Cadillac's home race in Miami is in the back half of the season.

Distance and duration

Races are a minimum of 305 km (190 miles), typically last around 2 hours, and in dry conditions require at least 1 pit stop. Sprints are 100 km (62 miles), last about 30 minutes, and don't have a pit stop — hence the name.

Cadillac F1 car at speed on a Grand Prix circuit — 1:31 Cadillac on track during the 2026 season.

The teams competing in 2026

It's an exciting year with newcomers Audi and — my favorite — the brand-new Cadillac F1 Team. McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari are the favorites to be fighting for the championships.

04Points, Money & The Two Championships

Fighting for the prize in F1 means scoring points. To score points you have to finish in the top 10 for full races, or the top 8 for a Sprint.

F1 points system explained — Grand Prix and Sprint Race scoring tables — 1:52 Points awarded — Grand Prix scoring goes 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 for P1 through P10. Sprint scoring is shorter and runs to P8.

Drivers vs. Constructors

The driver with the most points at the end of the season wins the Drivers' Championship. FIA doesn't award any money directly to the drivers for this — though most drivers have incentives in their team contracts tied to where they place.

Where FIA does award money is the Constructors' Championship. The team with the most points from both drivers combined wins the Constructors' title — and the prize money that goes with it.

F1 Manufacturers' Prize Money 2025 chart showing payouts from $175 million for first place down to $75 million for tenth — 2:13 The 2025 Constructors' payouts — McLaren took home $175M for P1, while P10 received $75M. That ~$100M gap is why teams are highly motivated to compete every weekend.

The difference between 1st and last place is roughly $100 million USD.

05Tires

Tires are a big deal in Formula 1, and you'll hear a lot about them. Proper handling and selection of tires is the main strategic element of a race.

Formula 1 Tires Explained chart showing C1 hardest through C5 softest, plus intermediate and wet — 2:34 The full F1 tire family — C1 (hardest) through C5 (softest), plus the intermediate and full wet for rain.

In 2026 there are 5 dry compounds — C1 through C5 — from hardest to softest. Each race location chooses 3 consecutive compounds, which then get labeled soft, medium, and hard for that weekend. Each compound has a unique color band on the sidewall for easy identification.

Detail of how tire compounds are mapped to soft, medium, and hard for each circuit — 2:55 The mapping: only 3 of the 5 compounds are used at any given race, and they slide along the C1–C5 scale based on the track's tire load.

Teams will race in the rain too, which brings in the intermediate or wet tires — specially designed to pump water out from under the contact patch.

The 2-second pit stop

To change the tires, the team performs a pit stop — the car comes into pit lane and ideally stops for 2 seconds to swap rubber and get back to racing.

06The Race Weekend

For a given race week, the format is as follows. The week starts with practice sessions — the team and drivers collect data and get familiar with the track.

F1 race weekend format diagram showing Practice, Qualifying, Race, and Podium Celebration — 3:16 The four-stage weekend: Practice → Qualifying → Race → Podium.

Saturday: qualifying

The competition begins with Saturday qualifying, which determines the grid — the order drivers line up for the start of the race. Qualifying happens in three segments — Q1, Q2, Q3. After each segment the slowest drivers by lap time are eliminated: 6 are eliminated after Q1, 6 more after Q2, and whoever is fastest in Q3 wins the lead spot — pole position.

Detail of the F1 race weekend with Q1/Q2/Q3 callouts — 3:37 The Q1 / Q2 / Q3 elimination structure determines starting order.

Sunday: race day

Sunday is race day. The top three finishers are recognized with a podium celebration that involves spraying each other with very large bottles of champagne.

07Just In Time

Phew — that was close.

Sean closes the episode with a Cadillac F1 backdrop — 4:01 The 2-lap budget held — a full intro to F1 in the time it takes Bottas to lap Bahrain twice.

Now a dance from the Cadillac dancing dog. Overtakers out for now — please like and subscribe.

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