Formula 1 is one of the most prestigious sports in the world with fast cars and cutthroat rivalries among the competitors. There’s not only a fight amongst the drivers for the title but the teams also compete for the World championships. F1 is often described as a traveling circus. From Monaco to Mexico, the teams travel to twenty-two circuits across five continents and fly from one country to the next every week. The season kicks off this March in Bahrain and ends more than eight months later at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. This year marks the start of a new era in Formula 1. The regulations have been turned upside down, bringing all teams back to step one. This change will jumble the order that fans are used to seeing and the excitement levels are higher than ever.
Source: Formula 1; Sebastian Vettel tested positive for COVID-19 when this photo was taken. He was replaced by the reserve driver for Aston Martin, Nico Hulkenberg who is rightmost on the lower line.
Recently Formula 1 has gained a lot of popularity because of Netflix’s hit show Drive to Survive. The show follows the teams and gives viewers insight into what goes on behind the scenes. The world of formula one is brutal. Becoming a formula 1 driver is one tough task but remaining a formula one driver and becoming successful is an even tougher task. One common misconception among people is that formula 1 drivers aren’t real athletes. This couldn’t be further away from the truth. Formula 1 drivers experience the pressure of gravity at multiple magnitudes. The drivers lose up to four kilos per race in countries like Singapore. They train for hours every day and have to be a certain weight to drive since the cars have a weight limit. The show shows us all the highs and especially focuses on the lows. The show may have been a massive success but has been criticized for apparently manufacturing drama and fabricating rivalries. Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion himself did not collaborate with Netflix and participate in shooting this sporting documentary’s fourth season.
Source: YouTube Netflix
What to expect this season?
Sir Lewis Hamilton is one of, if not the greatest racing driver in the world. He has been driving for Mercedes AMG Petronas racing since 2013. He holds the greatest number of records in Formula 1 history. In 2020 Lewis Hamilton equaled Michael Schumacher’s record when he won his seventh title. Last year ended on a very dramatic and also controversial note when the 7-time world champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton lost to Max Verstappen Red Bull’s twenty-four-year-old Dutch racing driver on the last lap. There seemed to be a lapse in judgment from the race director who didn’t implement the proper procedure. Mercedes lodged a protest and a few months later the race director was fired. This year Hamilton is back to get his eighth championship and he’s back with more motivation than ever before. Will Max Verstappen develop a winning streak, or will Sir Lewis Hamilton come out on top? Or will the championship go back to the most successful team the iconic red prancing horses, Scuderia Ferrari?
Authored By: Vedika Bajaj
Edited By: Ashutosh Bhoria
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