Formula 1 is the top level of single-seater circuit racing. The "formula" is the rulebook: every car on the grid has to be built to the same set of technical regulations, and the competition is about who interprets those rules best and then drives the result fastest.
Teams build the cars
Unlike most racing, F1 teams design and build their own cars. That is why they are called constructors. In 2026 there are eleven of them - Cadillac joined as the eleventh - and each runs two cars, so twenty-two drivers start every Grand Prix.
Some teams also build their own engine, or power unit. Others buy one from a manufacturer. A team that makes both is called a works team; one that buys is a customer team.
Two championships, one set of races
Every race awards points, and those points count twice. The Drivers’ Championship ranks individuals. The Constructors’ Championship adds both of a team’s drivers together. The constructors’ title decides how prize money is shared out, so a team can care about it as much as - or more than - which of its drivers wins.
The season
A season is a series of race weekends, each called a Grand Prix, run in different countries from March to December. The 2026 calendar has twenty-three rounds. Each Grand Prix usually takes its name from the country hosting it - though not always. In 2026 the Bahrain Grand Prix was held at Sepang, in Malaysia, after the original April date could not go ahead.
Who runs it
- The FIA is the governing body. It writes the rules, appoints the Stewards who enforce them, and runs the championship.
- Formula One Group owns the commercial rights: the calendar deals, television, and the business side.
- The teams sign an agreement with both that sets how the money is split and how rules get changed.