It’s time to get up to speed on Formula 1!\n<\/p>\n
With five Formula 1 races left in the 2025 season \u2014 which kicked off with the Australia Grand Prix in March \u2014PEOPLE has the fast track on everything you need to know before it reaches its finish line in December.\n<\/p>\n
The international motor racing event is considered the most prestigious in the world, with 24 total race weekends spanning several different countries across six continents (and many varying time zones!)\n<\/p>\n
Next, fans from near and far are pit stopping in Austin, Texas for the highly-anticipated United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas. The multi-day event kicks off with qualifying rounds on Friday, Oct. 17 and ends with the main event on Sunday, Oct. 19.\n<\/p>\n
Formula 1 drivers are considered some of the world’s best athletes due to the extreme physical exertion and immense strength required to withstand the high g-forces experienced in their single-seater cars that can reach over 230 mph on the track.\n<\/p>\n
Just ask Brad Pitt<\/a>, who trained like a real driver (and alongside real drivers, including seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton<\/a>) for his starring role in the 2024 blockbuster F1<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Brad Pitt filming for ‘F1’.<\/p>\n Tim Goode\/PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n “I had Lewis Hamilton drive with Brad right at the beginning to kind of see his level of skill,” F1 director Joseph Kosinski told PEOPLE<\/a> exclusively. “And\u00a0Lewis was really impressed<\/a> that Brad kind of had that talent right out of the gate.”\n<\/p>\n And Pitt isn’t the only celeb to bring star power to the sport: A-list celebrities<\/a> like Justin Bieber<\/a>, Tom Cruise<\/a> and Rihanna<\/a> that attend the races, and shows like Drive to Survive<\/a> on Netlix, have also helped boost Formula 1’s popularity.\n<\/p>\n Now, read on for everything to know about the 2025 Formula 1 season that’s underway.\n<\/p>\n What is Formula 1? <\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari.<\/p>\n Clive Rose\/Getty<\/p>\n Formula 1 is considered the pinnacle of motorsport and the most prestigious motor racing competition in the world. It’s an international single-seater, open-wheel competition that includes a team of engineers and drivers who compete across the globe.\n<\/p>\n Each race is called a Grand Prix, and there are 24 of them held during the 2025 Formula 1 season. It stretches from March to December and includes six F1 Sprint races throughout.\n<\/p>\n Formula 1 has two world championship honors:\u00a0the World Drivers’ Championship (the individual driver with the highest points) and the World Constructors’ Championship (the team with the highest points). Winners are determined at the end of the season based on the culmination of points.<\/p>\n How many teams are in the 2025 Formula 1 season? <\/p>\n Formula 1 Teams.<\/p>\n Mark Sutton\/Formula 1 via Getty; QIan Jun\/Paddocker\/NurPhoto via Getty; Mark Thompson\/Getty; Clive Rose\/Formula 1 via Getty<\/p>\n There are 10 teams in the 2025 Formula 1 season. They include:\n<\/p>\n Oracle Red Bull Racing Scuderia Ferrari Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team McLaren Formula 1 Team Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team Visa Cash App Racing Bulls MoneyGram Haas F1 Team BWT Alpine F1 Team Williams Racing Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber <\/p>\n Who are the the leading racers? <\/p>\n Carlos Sainz of Mercedes leads Isack Hadjar of France on track during practice ahead of the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of United States on Oct. 17 in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n Bryn Lennon\/Formula 1 via Getty<\/p>\n Heading into the United States Grand Prix in Austin, McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are battling it out for the top spot, with just 22 points separating the two as Piastri holds on to first. Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen, with 273 points, is right behind them in third, followed by George Russell and Charles Leclerc.\n<\/p>\n How does a Grand Prix weekend work? <\/p>\n Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing wins the Formula One British Grand Prix 2023.<\/p>\n CHRISTIAN BRUNA\/POOL\/AFP via Getty<\/p>\n Formula 1 weekends are adrenaline-filled for all parties, whether you’re behind the wheel or not!\n<\/p>\n The multi-day event, which typically stars on Friday and ends on Sunday, follows a standard format across each of its 24 races in the Formula 1 season. It includes practice, qualifying and the main race.\n<\/p>\n To allow the drivers to test their cars and familiarize themselves with the track, there are three practice sessions (FP1, FP2 and FP3) that take place during the first two days.\n<\/p>\n Qualifying is typically held on Saturday night, and also features three parts (Q1, Q2, and Q3). This is a highly-competitive event that eliminates the slowest drivers and determines placement for the third round, where the remaining athletes race for pole position (the front starting spot on the grid).\n<\/p>\n Teams want to place well during these rounds for solid placement at the main event: the Grand Prix.\n<\/p>\n This marks the last and final race of the multi-day event, and the most important race of them all. The final results of the weekend are calculated and championship points are gained. (Simply put, the higher drivers finish, the more points earned).\n<\/p>\n What is a sprint race weekend? <\/p>\n Max Verstappen of Oracle Red Bull Racing.<\/p>\n Qian Jun\/Paddocker<\/p>\n A quarter of the 24 Formula 1 weekends have designated F1 sprint events, so six in total. These weekends are different from the traditional Grand Prix weekends, with shorter (and faster!) races.\n<\/p>\n The sprint race takes around a half hour and covers 100 kilometers, which is approximately one-third of a typical Grand Prix distance. First place earns an extra eight points, second place earns an extra seven, and so on until the driver who finishes eighth receives a single point.\n<\/p>\n Pit stops aren’t required in sprint races, unlike a Grand Prix.\n<\/p>\n Which U.S. cities host F1 Grand Prix weekends? <\/p>\n Drivers compete during the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix on the Red Bull Ring race track in Spielberg, Austria, on June 30, 2024.<\/p>\n JURE MAKOVEC\/AFP via Getty<\/p>\n The Formula 1 schedule is unique because it takes place all over the world, hosting 24 races across 21 different countries and six continents (and 12 different time zones).\n<\/p>\n