It’s now approaching February, and the Formula 1 fans are wearing thin, as this winter break before the 2023 season is beginning to feel like an eternity. Do not despair, as pre-season testing will begin as soon as the 23rd of February in Bahrain, and the first race quickly after on the 3rd of March! To have a refresh on the previous racing season and the copious amounts of drama, Netflix has announced the 5th season of ‘Drive to Survive’ to release on the 24th of February, which will without a doubt be incredibly entertaining for viewers. In the meantime, the world of F1 has been relatively quiet. There has been a few changes within teams, and a few amendments to the rules and regulations, but nothing particularly pressing. Therefore, I find it would be best to use this opportunity to share some fun facts about the sport, that one would otherwise not have known. 

Starting off with a big statistic, it is recorded that over 400 million people watch Formula One, whether it be on television or a streaming device, yet there are still some individuals who are completely clueless about the sport…interesting. An even more gripping statistic, is one concerning the salaries of the drivers. In 2022, Max Verstappen received the highest payment, accumulating to a total of $60 million. Hamilton usually takes first place in this regard, and has been since 2013, but this year only received $55 million (yes, ‘only’). Surprisingly, Alonso ranked in third with a salary of $30 million.

Speaking of money, have you ever wondered how much an F1 car would potentially cost to make? Take that number in your head and triple it, because it costs around a whopping $11.83 million. Yes, you read that correctly. The engine is said to cost the majority of that amount, but it can inconveniently only be used for approximately 5-7 races. 

Now for some trivia that may be of interest you: (1) There were only 7 races initially when F1 began, indicating the scale that this sport has grown into and the international stretch it has made. (2) Statistically, in the UK there is a larger fan base of men than women. This does not come to much surprise, as the sport is itself is largely male-dominated, however give us ladies a couple years to gather support, and I am sure that statistic will begin to alter. (3) Shockingly, the fastest pit stop change in history was done in 1.82 seconds by the Red Bull team. Pit stops as they are, are already too fast to comprehend, never-mind one completed in under 2 seconds… (4) Have you ever wondered how much the teams have in their budget to invest towards their cars? Every year it seems to alter, but it is reported that the budget cap will be $135 million for teams in the 2023 season. This will surely cause an impact, as teams such as Mercedes and Ferrari have contributed over $400 million to their cars in previous seasons. 

And there you have it, some fast and fun facts about the sport we’ve all grown to love. Now that you have acquired some new information, you will be ready to go into the 2023 season with better insight of what the sport entails. 

Image: Marcel Heil on Unsplash