If You Love Video Games, You Should Be Watching Formula 1

Formula 1, also known as F1, is a hot topic as of late and one of the world’s most popular sports. Whether it’s topping the box office with a film starring Brad Pitt, or literally building a track smack in the middle of Las Vegas and hosting a race there, there’s a surging interest in the highly popular international motorsport. While on the surface, Formula 1 seems to be another Grand Prix sport in which drivers test their mettle on the track, diving deeper into the sport reveals a highly competitive battle of technical prowess on and off the track. In many ways, Formula 1 is like playing a video game, in which your gear and build matters right down to the very last detail, making it feel unlike any other sport out there. In fact, I’d argue Formula 1 is the sport to check out if you’re into gaming.

Let’s start with the basics, namely: what is Formula 1 and how exactly does it differ from other Grand Prix racing leagues that are fairly common but far less popular? In most other leagues, drivers and teams are required to use the same chassis and vehicle specifications. For example, in NASCAR, every driver uses the same type of vehicle, and the racing advantage comes down to pure skill in the moment-to-moment racing. That’s not the case in Formula 1.

Each F1 team is instead given a series of broad guidelines, specifications, and a budget: a “Formula” for them to follow. Using these guidelines, the teams literally build their race vehicles from scratch, using a fleet of engineers and mechanics. Because every team is able to build their own vehicle, the teams look for every advantage they can in the design and build, right down to the smallest detail. This results in vehicles that have more in common with jets and spacecraft than they do the average car you would see on the street.

To make matters more interesting, each team has to actually build their vehicle twice, because in the rules of Formula 1, each team is required to have two drivers and two vehicles. And while these drivers cannot communicate with one another, having two racers makes it vital that they are in constant communication with their team boss and engineers. Through radio contact, teams can switch up strategies and make changes to gameplans situations on the fly in the heat of a race, much like how teammate communication would work in a first-person shooter or MOBA video game.

Once the cars are built, it’s finally time to hit the track. Grand Prix events, a series of races in a championship series, in Formula 1 are typically split up into four different races: two practice rounds, one qualifier, and the Grand Prix race itself. In the practice rounds, drivers do exactly what is implied: they practice. In racing leagues such as NASCAR, the tracks are typically a round oval-like shape, providing a consistent driving experience throughout the race. Formula 1 shakes things up by featuring tracks that are filled with sharp turns and straightaways throughout. Because of this–and the fact that highly experimental vehicles are being used–drivers need to acquaint themselves with the track. Using these practice rounds, teams can also make adjustments to their vehicles and factor variables such as weather and track temperature into their final modifications and tire selection. Imagine it like playing a particularly difficult track in a racing game to learn it before hopping into an online match.

Actually, let’s talk a bit more about games here. Most racing games pride themselves on being accurate simulations of their respective motorsports. From Gran Turismo to EA’s yearly F1 franchise, recreating the motorsport experience is a priority for these games. Simulations are also essential to Formula 1 as well, as drivers use advanced simulators to recreate their cars and tracks without ever having to step on the pavement. With state of the art technologies and a smart use of screens and driving rigs, drivers are able to run near-exact replicas of situations they’ll face in the race.

After practice is where it really starts to count. With all the knowledge the drivers and teams have gained during the practice rounds, they race in a qualifier to compete for starting position in the race. The coveted pole position also known as “P1,” the frontmost starting position, is what the teams strive for, and every further position is considered a disadvantage that could literally add seconds to lap time.

After starting positions are established comes the real-deal race, in which the teams earn points for the season score based on finishing position. It’s no-holds-barred, and teams are expected to operate at peak performance right down to the smallest detail.

During the race, when drivers are forced to make pit stops for tire swaps and repairs, the pit crew is expected to have the drivers back out on the course in two seconds or less–and often do. Even choosing when to have these pit stops is considered a tactical decision that is given a great deal of thought and consideration. That’s why teams not only earn points for driving, but also for pit and engineering teams. The Grand Prix event repeats multiple times throughout the season, and at the end, the winning team is crowned for their technical and physical skills, on and off the track. The outcome affects budgets for teams in the following year’ the winning team receives less budget to work with than runner-up teams, meaning that other teams will have a chance to catch up from a tech standpoint.

In many ways, Formula 1 feels like gaming–even for someone who is not actively participating. In most sports, gear and builds don’t factor into performance, but Formula 1 replicates the feeling of perfecting a build to overcome an obstacle, and having to repeat the process again and again.

Take, for example, Nico Hulkenberg’s third-place podium win from a P19 starting position, making it his first podium win in 239 races, a feat not thought possible from a “weaker” team. As someone who’s heavily into Diablo, I can’t help but see parallels between streamlining and tinkering with a character build of mine for the highest damage output and putting it to the test in endless repeatable dungeons, and seeing a Formula 1 team made adjustments and modifications to shave seconds off of their fastest lap time. When everything clicks in, gaming and Formula 1 actions can run like clockwork and provide a grand sense of accomplishment especially when critical thinking is applied.

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