Alternative format Google Doc (5.4k word count) is available here in plain text with image descriptions!
Here's an intro to Formula 1 lore. Get to know some famous rivalries, resident curses, and basic history!
I am once again infodumping about F1, but this time it is about some of the lore in as unbiased of a fashion as I can.
If you notice anything wrong with this presentation (whether it be ALT text, a fact, something formatted oddly, etc.), please feel free to tell me, I will gladly fix any errors!
And, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
Click here to view my intro to F1 as a sport.
Click here to view my intro to the 2026 grid.
Click here to view the original slideshow.
F1 Contract Negotiations: The Ultimate Guide to the 2024 Williams Contract Negotiations Saga (EDITED)
If you've ever asked yourself "what really happened during Carlos' contract negotiations?" and "how much do we really know about it?" - this is for you!
I compiled all the relevant quotes and bites from the assorted podcasts, interviews and press conferences, made a handy timeline, and presented it oh-so nicely. Now, all the information about the "secret meetings" in "various hotel locations" can be found in one place! Enjoy💙
Chosen sources:
Full list in the last slide!
How Sainz Will Turbocharge Williams - with James Vowles | F1 Nation Podcast (5 August 2024), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zodLL9POfeE.
EXCLUSIVE: Late nights, secret meetings and colossal contracts – James Vowles on how he signed Sainz (29 July 2024), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/exclusive-late-nights-secret-meetings-and-colossal-contracts-james-vowles-on.2KTdZFiYOsMCIRT6GdRlLA.
‘He's an incredible driver’ – Vowles says Sainz is top of Williams shortlist for 2025 (7 June 2024), https://www.formula1.com/en/video/hes-an-incredible-driver-vowles-says-sainz-is-top-of-williams-shortlist-for-2025.1801235335357520279.
Sainz poised to announce F1 deal with Williams in Barcelona (June 2024), https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/06/20/sainz-poised-to-announce-f1-deal-with-williams-in-barcelona/.
Vowles has his ‘heart set’ on signing Sainz as he says ‘odds are in my favour’ for Williams to secure him (29 July 2024), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/vowles-has-his-heart-set-on-signing-sainz-as-he-says-odds-are-in-my-favour.6tOC9hN3OfIO24JLvY8JMm.
Vowles describes 'emotional reaction' from Williams team to Sainz signing as 'largest I've ever seen' (8 August 2024), https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/vowles-describes-emotional-reaction-from-williams-team-to-sainz-signing-as.3THrWsaiypWlASRFJhkztP.
Sainz believes Williams can make an F1 performance leap akin to McLaren with their “very strong project” (August 2024), https://www.pitdebrief.com/post/sainz-believes-williams-can-make-an-f1-performance-leap-akin-to-mclaren-with-their-very-strong-project/.
James Vowles: On The Right Track With Albon + Sainz | F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast (2 October 2024), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMyUNzNETuk.
Carlos Sainz: Pain, Pride + Potential | F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast (4 December 2024), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26PsKeH_ytA.
Carlos Sainz’s First Day at HQ! | No Place Like Grove (4 February 2025), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzJjy24Ix1M.
i saw a post by @powerful-owl about how the f1 fandom doesn't have a lot of primers for new fans, and in the interests of sharing the love (having a new thing to obsess over) i've made this little sideblog. i'll reshare any primers i see/i'm tagged in, from the technicalities of tyres to ship lore to old race recommendations, and i'm going to start a list below of ideas in case anyone fancies writing them.
HERE IS THE TAG LIST so you can find posts i've shared so far!
technical/sporting stuff
intro to the history of f1
calendar explained - changes over the years, sprint vs normal weekends, double/triple headers
teams - history of each team individually or one big post, a history of team name changes
teams - what a team principal does, what a race engineer does, what other positions there are and faces people might see a lot of
the structure of a race weekend/what the sessions mean - media day, practices, quali, sprint shootout, sprint, race
how qualifying works - sessions, things to watch out for, what teams/drivers actually do during quali
how races work - start process, intro to race strategy & stints, outline of pit stops, how they end, parc ferme > podium
intro to strategy - outline of pitstops, tyre choices, over/undercut, etc
intro to tyres - different types, characteristics of each ones, deg/wear etc
how the timing towers on tv work & how to read them (for free practice, quali & race)
what all the different flags mean
safety car 101
tracks - loads of stuff here: famous tracks, all the tracks on the current calendar, the different between traditional and street tracks, features of a track to watch out for
overtaking explained
technical explainer - drs, battery harvesting, slipstreaming, stuff like that
safety features explainer - halo, hans device, etc
technical terms/slang you might hear
what the FIA is/intro
stewarding/the rules outline
techical requirements - parc ferme, what can/can't be changed over a weekend, rebuilding cars after contact or crashes
pit stops - what happens, what's changed, double stacking, good/bad times, how it affects a race
common penalties - track limits, crossing pit lane entry etc
point system - how it works for sprints/races, how it's changed etc
car design - wings, sidepods, etc
intro to f1 physics - aero, downforce etc
liveries - iconic ones, current team liveries, history of team liveries
the pitlane, paddock & pit wall explained - including order of teams in the pitlane, who everyone on a pit wall is
team radio 101 - what is said, what it means, iconic moments
how weather & temperature affects races/driving
history of f1
most famous races
most famous championships
wildest stuff that's happened in the sport (overall or by decade)
team move dramas
an intro to all the driver's championship winners
'know your history' - big moments people will see referenced
most controversial events - on track
most controversial events - off-track, f1 politics, scandals
moments that changed the sport
fandom stuff
intro to current drivers & their whole vibe
intro to past drivers & their whole vibe
most famous ships in the sport and an outline
most famous rivalries in the sport and an outline
best/funniest team radio moments
silly things that have happened
teammate relationships - the good, the bad, the unhinged
slang & inside jokes you might hear
niche stuff - the orignal post that sparked this referenced an 'alex albon's pets' primer, daniel's tattoos, george's dad, etc. a gift to fic writers! so anything, as niche as it gets, is good
Physics for rookies! What is Adrien Newey cooking in there?
Here is the culmination of my research into the physics behind F1, my own knowledge from GCSE physics, and what I have gleaned from my very patient friend who took A-Level physics. This is about as in-depth as I can understand in hopefully simple and fun explanations. I've used the RB19 as my example model because I don't think I'll ever truly be over her.
The basics!
Because a lot of this primer uses language that you might not remember or sort of vaguely understand, here's some basic explanations of physics stuff that comes up:
Energy: this is defined as 'the ability to do work' - how much capacity you have to do something, such as move, or react! There are several different forms of energy: kinetic (movement), thermal, light, gravitational, electrical, sound, chemical and nuclear. Energy can be transferred between these different forms - for example, some of the light energy produced by light bulbs is transferred into heat, which is why they are hot to touch. It can also be transferred between different objects that are touching. This can cause other objects to move, such as water rippling, or other objects to begin to heat up, like a pan on a stove.
Particle: in science, this refers to an extremely small piece of stuff, most commonly a molecule or an atom. Although the air seems invisible to us, it is actually made up of various gases and other types of particles. We don't feel the pressure these particles exert on us because we produce enough energy to move through them without them bothering us, and we don't see them because they're so small and create a colourless gas!
Pressure: the physical force exerted on or against an object by something coming into contact with it. In this primer, this mostly refers to the pressure caused by the particles that make up gases, which collide with the things around them as they move around randomly. Pressure can be relative in the same volume - high pressure areas have more particles in the same volume than low pressure areas, which have less. Pressure can be changed by increasing the volume - more volume with the same amount of particles equals a lower pressure.
But wait ... physics matters in F1?
The physics behind F1 cars dictates how the team develops their cars! Understanding why the updates they add to the car work why they do helps them to develop further changes, or to make adjustments according to the race weekend. There are a few different forces teams need to think about during development and set-up:
Drag
Downforce
Ground effect
Some cars have high or low drag - what does that mean?
Simply: how much drag a car has directly translates to how easily the car moves through the air. The more drag the car has, the less energy goes into acceleration, as more energy goes into moving the particles in the air out of the way. Complicatedly:
The energy of an F1 car produces different types of energy, the most obvious ones being kinetic, thermal, and sound. Most of the kinetic energy the car produces goes into making it go fast, but since some of the particles that make up the air are touching the car, some of that kinetic energy has to go into pushing those particles out of the way so the car can move past them. This makes the car less efficient, as less of the energy produced is going toward its intended purpose: zooming! The horizontal force the car experiences caused by these air particles pushing on it as it moves them out of the way is called drag. There are a few different types of drag that an F1 car can experience:
Skin Friction Drag: what it sounds like! Some particles in the air have qualities that make them attracted to surfaces, such as the wings or chassis of an F1 car. These particles can stick to the car, and then become attracted to other particles that are free in the air. These attractions can build up layers of particles. The attraction between particles attached to the car, and particles in the air increases the amount of energy the car has to use to move them out of the way
Form Drag: this just refers to 'normal' drag - the force caused when an object pushes the particles in the air out of the way. The shape of an object can affect the amount of form drag it experiences. The smaller the area moving through the air, the less pressure it experiences, and therefore the less drag experienced
Induced Drag: this is a type of drag caused by a second force an F1 car experiences, downforce. Downforce creates an area of high pressure and an area of low pressure. The particles in the air try to even this out by moving from the area of high pressure to the area of low pressure. This happens most around the front and rear wings of an F1 car. However, it's unavoidable, because downforce is vital to the function of an F1 car!
If an F1 car is high drag, this basically means it is designed in a way that is not efficient for moving through the air, so it wastes loads of the energy produced by the engine. These cars often have huge speeds losses on straights when compared to low drag cars. Low drag cars are great at moving through the air! They have lots more energy left over to go into speed.
How do you make a car high or low drag?
F1 engineers use a few different techniques to reduce drag. Here are some of them:
Endplates: induced drag means that the air moving over the front wing and rear wing of F1 cars wants to go down underneath them, from the area of high pressure to the area of low pressure. Endplates stop them moving sideways over the plates, and instead keeps them moving in a straight line over the wings. On the front wing of the car, the endplates also reduce drag by directing air over the wheels of the car, and not into them!
Sidepods: remember how Mercedes refused to have sidepods, and then added them as an upgrade? Sidepods help to reduce form drag by directing the air flow in specific ways over the car. This also helps to increase downforce - they're kind of important!
Nose: F1 cars have super thin noses. This helps to reduce form drag - the smaller the area experiencing pressure as it moves through the air, the less energy is used!
DRS: the drag reduction system on an F1 car opens the rear wing during specified zones on each circuit. This removes the induced drag caused by the wing generating downforce, so the car gains around 10 extra km/h!
To see how these different components change how air is directed over the surface of the car, you can watch the tests teams often do early in free practice 1. During aerodynamic tests, they add neon paint to areas of the car and record how it spreads!
Most of these components are regulated by the FIA, but teams can design and adjust them within those regulations to get different effects to suit different circumstances. This can be why you see teams bringing different sidepods, or wings, to different tracks! Power circuits (e.g. Monza) refer to circuits where the speed of the car is most important to its performance. These circuits typically have a bunch of straights and slow speed corners, where downforce isn't useful, but reducing drag is!
What's downforce?
Simply: downforce is a term mainly specific to F1 that refers to the force that sucks the car down toward the floor when it moves. The more downforce a car has, the faster it can go! Complicatedly:
Downforce refers to the vertical force that a car experiences due to the particles in the air pushing downward on it. This happens when the car isn't moving, but also when it does! As the car moves and air flows over it, the particles in the air collide with the car and create pressure. Downforce is also sometimes called 'negative lift', as the opposite of lift occurs.
The amount of downforce an object experiences increases according to the square of its speed. This means that if you are travelling at 50 km/h, with 10N of downforce, and double your speed to 100 km/h, you increase the amount of downforce you experience to 40N (WARNING! MATHS: 50 x 2 = 100, 2² = 4, 10 x 4 = 40).
Teams want lots of downforce on their car for a few different reasons:
Downforce stabilises the rear of the car. This makes it easier for the driver to handle the car and predict what it will do
The more downforce you have, the higher the top speed of your car is
Teams want extra speed in medium and low speed corners. Because of the above principle, its actually easy to find extra downforce in fast corners! Medium and slow speed corners are the problems.
What's a ground effect? How does it work?
To generate more downforce, F1 engineers now consider the ground to be part of the system that produces different forces on an F1 car. This principle is called the ground-effect, and it can be used to produce ground-effect downforce. Ground-effect is also used to explain why planes float before they reach take-off speed!
In modern-day F1, most ways that are used to produce ground-effect are based off Bernoulli's principle. This principle refers to the effect that occurs when an object is lowered to the floor as air flows around it. As air moves between the object and the ground, it accelerates as the amount of space it has to move between them decreases. This causes pressure between the object and the ground to decrease, while pressure above the object stays the same - this creates an area of low pressure, and an area of high pressure. The object then experiences an overall downward force, which presses it toward the floor!
The area of low pressure underneath the car also works between the floor of the car and the track surface by trying to decrease the volume that the particles are contained in - it either tries to pull the track up towards the floor of the car, or pull the floor down toward the surface. This 'pulling' force acts as a vertical force, so it technically increases downforce!
How do you get extra downforce?
Anything that helps to either increase the pressure over the top of the car, or decreases the pressure underneath the car can help! The most common way engineers do this is by considering the entire car to be one big 'wing', but there are couple of methods:
The front wing: the front wing directs air close to the surface of the track up and over the body of the car, which increases the amount of air causing pressure over the top of it. This creates an area of low pressure under the front wing, and an area of high pressure above it
The skirt: the skirt around the floor of the car prevents air from entering underneath it from the sides. This stops the low pressure area underneath the car from being interrupted!
The flaps and fins: flaps and fins along the sides of the car force air into little spirals that create and trap a vacuum that 'seals' the edges of the car
The floor: the floor of an F1 car is covered in venturis - these are ducts that slowly expand toward their end. This both accelerates the particles in the air through the duct as they try to accommodate for the increase in space, but also decreases pressure under the car. The floor of the car is one of the biggest ways teams utilise ground-effect to increase downforce!
Ride height: adjusting the ride height of an F1 car refers to adjusting how low it sits to the ground. Decreasing the ride height increases downforce according to Bernoulli's principle. It is also one of the favoured ways to increase downforce, as it is one of the few that does so without massively increasing drag!
Sidepods: sidepods can be used to direct air flowing over the car toward the floor and into the venturis to increase downforce. Wide sidepods can also function in a similar way to the skirt of the car
Some of these components can be adjusted every race weekend to suit the conditions of the track. For example, the ride height can be adjusted, as can the angles of the front and rear wings. High downforce circuits (e.g. Monaco) are those where having a lot of downforce is advantageous. They are characterised by lots of corners, and very few, often short, straights. At these type of circuits, having low drag isn't super important - how attached to the floor you can get your car is!
Let's go porpoising! - Gunter Steiner
Porpoising refers to the rapid upward and downward movement of the body of the car as it bounces on its suspension. This is caused by the floor of the car being sucked too close to the floor, and the low pressure becoming problematic. It causes the air to stall underneath the car, which forces it to bounce up so the air underneath it can be released. This cycle continues over and over again, and you end up with porpoising!
The problem arose after the regulation changes for the 2022 season, when using the ground effect to generate downforce was allowed again! It dominated the way F1 cars were engineered throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, and then was disallowed after regulation changes. There were fears about cars losing the downforce generated from the ground affect, and then shooting off the track. The FIA reintroduced it in an attempt the reduce the effect of dirty air.
Porpoising became so wide-spread and severe among the teams that the FIA had to stage a technical intervention with a change to the regulations. The edges of an F1 car's floor have to be 15mm further away from the surface of the track than previously, which allows stalled air to be released and decreases the area of low pressure underneath the car. This appears to have fixed the problem! However, porpoising is still one of the more memorable parts of the 2022 season.
How does this help me understand what Adrien Newey is cooking in there?
I know that the title of the primer suggests that I do, in fact, know 'what Adrien Newey is cooking in there.' I regret to inform you that I don't. He's beyond all of us.
But, if you have any questions or want to chat more technical F1 stuff with me, my ask box is open and I'm happy to talk! Hope this helped :)
Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro a.k.a. Carlos Sainz Jr. was born on September 1st, 1994 in Madrid, Spain. He is currently a professional racing driver for Scuderia Ferrari in Formula 1. His driver number is 55.
Pictures from @/Carlossainz55 on X
Family
Father: Carlos Sainz Sr.
Mother: Reyes Vázquez de Castro
Older sister: Blanca Sainz Vázquez
Younger sister: Ana Sainz Vázquez
-> His dogs (yes he’s definitely a dog person): check this Sainz dogs masterpost
-> More Sainz family lore includes:
Carlos' younger sister, Ana Sainz, married into nobility in 2023 by tying the knot with Rodrigo Fontcuberta, son of a son of Duke and the Marchioness (source)
Carlos' paternal grandfather was a successful business man (source)
Although more will be said below, Carlos' father is a big name in the Spanish sports scene since his teenage days trying out with the Real Madrid Football Club and winning a national squash championship at the age of 16. He has also made a name for himself in the motorsport scene, specifically in rally racing (source)
Photo from Vroomkart Spain
Racing Career
His Wikipedia page provides a concise but good chronology of his various stages from his karting days (starting at the age of 8), to Red Bull Junior Team (starting 2010), to Formula BMW (2010), to Formula 3 (2012), to GP3 (2013), to Renault 3.5 (2013), and finally to Formula 1.
This biography page on Carlos also provides a slightly more detailed description of his racing career.
Driver preference: Carlos prefers a car with understeer rather than oversteer (source)
On choosing his F1 driver race number: "The S of my first name is like a 5 and so is the S of my last name, so that makes #55". Moreover, the #5 is his favourite number, but that was already taken by Sebastian Vettel” (source)
Formula 1 Teams
Scuderia Torro Rosso (2015-2017): Teammate with Max Verstappen (2015-2016) and Daniil Kvyat (2016-2017)
Renault (2017-2018): Teammate with Nico Hülkenberg
McLaren (2019-2020): Teammate with Lando Norris
Scuderia Ferrari (2021-present): Teammate with Charles Leclerc
Picture from @/carlossainz55 on Instagram
Some Formula 1 Achievements
Carlos has achieved 18 podium finishes and 2 race wins.
His first podium was at the 2019 Brazilian GP. Carlos considers it as being his favourite race of his career (source)
His first win was at the 2022 British GP.
His second win was at the 2023 Singapore GP (making him the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix during the 2023 season).
Some Important Characters in Carlos’ Racing Career
-> Carlos Sainz Sr.
Two-time World Rally Champion a.k.a. El Matador
Helped Carlos out throughout his karting days and had the network and financial means to support his son in his racing career. He has been a mentor of sort for Carlos and can sometimes be seen attending some of his son’s F1 races.
Carlos' father had recently retired from his racing career when Carlos was old enough to get into the world of motorsport. He mentions that he did not grow up on his dad's races but that he still admires him and his achievements (source)
Picture and quote from this source
-> Fernando Alonso
Fellow Formula 1 driver and double World Drivers Champion.
In 2005, Carlos makes his first visit of the Formula 1 paddock at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. He meets Fernando Alonso who he describes as his “childhood hero”. This meeting was also a decisive one for young Carlos to choose to pursue a career in Formula 1.
They are now good friends on the paddock.
Picture 1 from @/TheBestF1es on X; Picture 2 from @/SoyMotor on X; Picture 3 from @/Carlossainz55 on X
-> María de Villota (source for quotes)
Professional motorsport driver and Formula 1 Test Driver. For those interested in the history of women in F1, I recommend reading about her career.
Carlos’ mentor in his formative years learning how to race at Madrid Driver’s School.
She unfortunately had a test driving accident making her lose sight in one eye in 2012. She passed from a cardiac arrest in 2013.
Carlos has honoured her importance in his career by incorporating her iconic star (la estrella de villota) in every helmet design of his since 2014.
Video credit to @/diirtyrose on Tiktok
“I have Maria Villota’s star with me. She was the first one that I got into a single-seater with. She teached me how to drive it.”
“I made the personal decision to wear Maria’s star on my helmet since 2014. It’s not carrying the legacy but I do carry my personal Maria De Villota inside the helmet”
-> Michael Schumacher
Former Formula 1 driver with 7 World Drivers’ Champion titles.
Carlos has mentioned that he was also an important figure he idolized growing up.
Carlos met him once in his karting days and raced for Schumacher’s karting team in Germany (source)
Picture from @/p1_coach (Rupert Manwaring) on Instagram
-> Carlos Oñoro Sainz
Carlos’ cousin and dedicated manager (source)
Mostly stays behind the scene except for him being featured on Netflix’s Drive to Survive.
-> Rupert Manwaring
Until very recently, Rupert was Carlos’ performance coach. He is now moving on to another phase of his career and has joined Max Verstappen’s team.
Cute goodbye/thank you post from Rupert to Carlos
Fun facts about Carlos Sainz
-> Miscellaneous
He’s a Millennial and it shows sometimes, but it’s cute!
About his Chili 🌶️ nickname: no exact moment or story, nor is it related to him liking spicy food. Simply his friends joking around and calling him Chili. Carlos has said perhaps because it goes from Carlos -> Charlie -> Chili (source)
About his Smooth Operator nickname: Originates from his multiple radio messages where he refers to or sings the song. Carlos says he doesn’t have a particular attachment to the 1984 song by Sade but that he heard it for the first time on the radio during the 2019 British GP and he liked it a lot (source)
Getting his $300k watch stolen and catching the thieves and holding them off until authorities got to the scene (source)
His closest friends on the grid are Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso
Carlos is famous for his impeccable post-race hair (compared to other drivers). Carlos, however, has stated that he doesn’t agree and that his hair looks like a mess after a race (source)
He has a surprisingly simple hair care routine. Showers in the morning and one shampoo. Precisely one and not two or his hair gets too fluffy (source)
Carlos signed his Ferrari contract in his pyjamas at home during COVID lockdown (source)
In an old interview asking what animal he would be, Carlos said that he really likes meerkats and made a reference to the Lion King (source)
He definitely is like the “papá” equivalent of a mamma’s boy. Some fans may disagree with Carlos Sainz Sr.’s parenting approach, but Carlos mentions him a lot in a positive manner and seems to like spending time with him during his break.
For instance, on an interview asking what advice he would have for his younger self, Carlos said the following: “Listen more to my dad. 90% of the time, he was right.” (source)
But also, clearly adores his mother and his two sisters. He always thinks about them when he makes a post to highlight International Women's Day.
His favourite number is 5 (source)
In addition to la estrella De Villota, Carlos' helmet always feature the Spanish flag and the Virgin of Pilar (source)
Carlos currently has a girlfriend (source)
Carlos collects his helmets and caps (source)
He hates shopping and said that he rarely buys anything he doesn't need (source)
When asked what an ideal day looks like for him, Carlos answered "Go running early morning, have lunch with the whole family – and that is a big one – then play golf in the afternoon and probably later in the evening go to a movie." (source)
When asked to choose between the power of invisibility and flying: "Being able to fly - definitely. It would make life so much easier! Just think: you spread your arms and take off directly from the racetrack. But only if no strange outfit like tights or a cape is involved! (Laughs)" (source)
Carlos believes in attraction at first sight but not love at first sight (source)
-> Sports and Leisure
Carlos is an avid fan of golf, quite skillful at it too, and one the first Netflix Cup in 2023. He says Lando Norris is his “golf buddy” (source)
Apart from golf, Carlos is very athletic. He has said before, “I love sports and training. For me, training is not only a sacrifice, but also something I enjoy. […]. I am very sporty and I do all kinds of sports; whatever sport you ask me, I try to practice it at a decent level” (source)
Here is a list of some sports he is adept in: Tennis, Paddle tennis, Football/Soccer, Cycling, Surfing, Running, Skiing, Wakeboarding.
He isn’t scared of doing an activity if he is in control of the vehicle or equipment, but he does avoid skiing or more drastically dangerous sports to protect his career in racing (source)
Carlos about doing risky activities: "Doing something risky that I am not able to control. I am a bit of a risk-lover, but I have to be in control - not somebody else taking me down the risk-alley!" (source)
He can drive rally cars (source) and when asked in 2017 what his favourite buzz is apart from driving an F1 car, Carlos said the following: "Driving a rally car. One day I want to race in one of the big rallies." (source)
He sometimes plays video games like FIFA and Mario Bros. His favorite character in Mario Kart is Yoshi (source)
His favourite football team is Real Madrid and his favourite player is Luka Modrić (source)
Other athletes he idolized growing up and still respects to this day are Muhammad Ali, Rafael Nadal and Michael Jordan (source 1; source 2)
-> Food and cooking
Carlos follows a strict diet for his training. Here's what he had to say about it in a recent interview, “From Thursday to Sunday, I have a strict diet and I can’t eat from the buffet that is prepared for everyone. As an athlete, I have to eat my specific dishes… and when I pass by the buffet, I’m very jealous!” (source)
Overall, he still seems to enjoy food and recognizes how lucky he is to be able to do so without his weight fluctuating much “I can eat as much as I want and I will never go above 73 kilos. It doesn’t matter how much I eat because of the amount of sport [I do] and I think my constitution is just very, very, very good in a way. I think it will change with age, but at least it’s helping me now.” (source)
Favourite Dishes: "Whenever I come to Spain, I always go for the chuletón or the peppers and, of course, the tortilla, the ham and the croquettes" (source) + "Obviously from Spanish dishes, for me nothing beats a good tortilla or some good croquetas, maybe even some octopus. If not, my go-to cheat meal is always a hamburger” (source)
Favourite cuisines: "“I always say the best places where I eat are – not in this particular order – but Spain, Italy and Japan” (source)
Cooking abilities: “I learned to make a ‘real Italian’ carbonara pasta, taught by an Italian. And I’m pretty good at it. I don’t cook much, to be honest, but what little I do cook I do decently" (source)
Is learning (hopefully learned by now) how to cook his father’s spaghetti sauce recipe: el spaghetti matador (source)
His fluffy pancake recipe that he can recite on the spot. He also doesn't put anything on his pancakes, just eats them as is because he likes the taste of the dough (source)
He’s not a big fan of spicy food but is starting to like it a bit more (source)
Not much information on his drinks of choice, but it’s well known that Carlos enjoys drinking coffee. He also mentioned that he enjoys going to eat tapas with beers in between race weekends (source)
Carlos says his food cravings are usually salty. That he has the "opposite of a ‘sweet tooth’" (source)
-> Music, Arts and Media
Carlos doesn’t play any musical instruments. He said he likes to listen to Jazz in the morning to relax (source)
Teenage Carlos said he liked rock music and named The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Muse as his top 3 bands at the time (source)
Carlos does see F1 memes but mostly from his friends sending it to him (source)
All-time favourite TV series: Game of Thrones, Suits and Money Heist (source)
He likes the James Bond movies (source) and Quentin Tarantino movies. One of his favourite movies is The Wolf of Wall Street (source)
When answering which TV character he would be, Carlos aid "the professor in Money Heist" (source)
In 2022, Carlos did the Spanish dubbing for a cameo in the movie Lightyear (source)
In 2017, Carlos claimed he had never cried to a movie but that The Lion King made him very emotional (source) Later he admitted that he cried to the 2007 movie I Am Legend (source)
Carlos doesn't seem to be a big reader, the only book he's mentioned he read in a 2017 interview is Andre Agassi's autobiography (source)
Carlos describes himself as a "passive [music] listener" rather than someone who will sing along to a song (source)
-> Education
His first language is Spanish but he is also fluent in English and Italian. He had to take French during his schooling but doesn’t speak it fluently (source)
He completed his primary and secondary studies at the British Council School in Madrid where he learned most of his English before starting his international racing career (source)
When Em @powerful-owl first put out her call for primers (what feels like a hundred years ago now), I swore I had just recently listened to a description of what a race weekend was like for drivers on one of my podcasts, almost certainly F1 Explains. I listened back to the two episodes I thought it might be on, and figured I’d go ahead and take and share some notes on everything, in case there is some useful info in there for others. It turns out I had mis-remembered, because the discussion was about what a race weekend is like for media folks, not drivers, but I think it’s still useful because it does give information about what the drivers’ media obligations are.
In general, I highly recommend the F1 Explains podcast (previously called Formula Why), especially to new F1 fans who want to learn more details about the sport. Katie Osborne and Christian Hewgill co-host it, and on most episodes they pick a single topic (e.g. racing in the rain, street circuits, driver training regimens, etc.) and do a deep dive with a few different experts. But they also do semi-regular “quick-fire” episodes where they cover a bunch of questions that maybe don’t need a full episode to answer. Former Aston Martin strategist and current F1 + Sky Sports strategy analyst Bernie (Bernadette) Collins is a regular guest expert on the quick-fire episodes. (She’s also a regular in MY HEART, because she is amazing and wonderful and has the best Irish accent.) There are a few other rotating experts as well, usually from the F1/Sky Sports family.
Anyways, here is my write-up of the answer to the question about what a race weekend is like for media, which was on the episode from 9 November 2023:
Q: What are race weekends like for media and broadcasters? Are there dedicated times the media can speak to drivers?
A: F1 is one of the sports where media actually get the most availability of drivers for the media. Thursday is Media Day. Each team puts out a list of times, usually a 5-20 minute window, where TV or print media can come along and ask questions. For TV it’s called a “scrum” where the media are in a sort of arc around the driver with all of their cameras pointed at the driver and they take turns asking questions. Written media is similar. If the driver misses that time for whatever reason, there usually aren’t any backup times. Media can also request one-to-one interviews at a separate time, but that is negotiated and set weeks and weeks in advance. Each team puts aside one hour for media time on a Thursday that includes the TV and written media scrums as well as any one-to-one interviews. Additionally, every weekend there are two press conferences held by the FIA on Media Day. Ten drivers do the press conference with written media where the drivers are all sat together at a desk or on couches answering questions. The other ten drivers do the TV pen, which is a U-shape with all of the TV crews standing around the outside and each driver works their way around the U talking to each TV crew. Each crew gets a maximum of two questions per driver. After each practice session, qualifying, and the race itself, the drivers will do the TV pen again and speak to written media. The top three finishers also do the post-race press conference.
So feel free to use this information when writing fic, but also remember that you don’t have to have all of your facts absolutely perfectly correct! It’s called fiction for a reason!
There were a lot of other interesting questions and answers in the episode, which I also took notes on, and I will put those below the cut. (Read on to find out which driver has Strong Feelings about the roundabouts near Milton Keynes, and which world champions have accidentally pulled into the wrong pit boxes before, LOL.)
Is this the kind of thing that is interesting and useful? I have a summary written up already for the 2 November 2023 episode, because I thought the "what is race weekend like" question might be in that one, but this is already super long. Should I post the notes on that episode in a different post? I can do notes/summaries for other episodes if that's something people are interested in, but I have a bad history of spending a lot of time documenting things in fandom that no one else ever uses or looks at, so I'm trying to...better allocate my limited spare time.
F1 Explains – 9 November 2023
Quick-fire questions with Bernie Collins & Lawrence Barretto
First, a sidenote: Daniel Ricciardo once did a shoey from one of Lawrence Baretto’s shoes. Daniel signed it and Lawrence has it on desk now.
Q: What construction and logistics have to go into a new street circuit, and how to teams prepare for a brand new track?
A: The streets used for the race track have to be re-laid with new tarmac, there has to be coordination with street opening and closing, hotels and other businesses around the circuit, etc. There is a full episode on racetrack design. To prepare for a new track, teams look closely at historical weather data (including temperatures and wind). They’ll load 2D and sometimes 3D scans of the track into their simulators, although often there isn’t full information yet because the final track hasn’t been finished. Lots of simulations and calculations in an attempt to get as much data as they can in advance. There’s also a full episode about how simulators work.
Q: How important is the engine manufacturer? Are they a glorified sponsor that provides an F1-approved generic engine or are there real technical differences between the engines from different suppliers?
A: There are differences between power units from different manufacturers. It also gives them a chance to really stretch themselves and bring in expertise from all around the company (e.g. if they also manufacture jet engines) and to hopefully get some good PR that will lead to more people buying their street cars. In 2023 for the first time, each engine manufacturer showed their engine off to the press to show the differences between each unit. 2023 engine manufacturers were Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes, and Honda. In 2026, Ford and Audi will join as new manufacturers.
Q: Why do drivers and engineers do track walks? Do all teams and drivers do this?
A: Not all drivers do it, some of them will do a run or go out on a scooter. Reasons to do it include looking for changes from last year (new bumps, changes to gravel or curbs (kerbs), etc.) as well as having a bit of uninterrupted time for drivers and their race engineers to talk to each other. Also can be helpful to the commentators/presenters. Helps everyone build/remember their muscle memory of the track if they’ve been there before.
Q: Is F1 using AI? Could it be used for race strategy?
A: Yes, most teams are already doing machine learning in calculations and simulations, but for now human input is still required (and probably always will be).
(Repeating this here because this is where it was in the episode)
Q: What are race weekends like for media and broadcasters? Are there dedicated times the media can speak to drivers?
A: F1 is one of the sports where media actually get the most availability of drivers for the media. Thursday is Media Day. Each team puts out a list of times, usually a 5-20 minute window, where TV or print media can come along and ask questions. For TV it’s called a “scrum” where the media are in a sort of arc around the driver with all of their cameras pointed at the driver and they take turns asking questions. Written media is similar. If the driver misses that time for whatever reason, there usually aren’t any backup times. Media can also request one-to-one interviews at a separate time, but that is negotiated and set weeks and weeks in advance. Each team puts aside one hour for media time on a Thursday that includes the TV and written media scrums as well as any one-to-one interviews. Additionally, every weekend there are two press conferences held by the FIA on Media Day. Ten drivers do the press conference with written media where the drivers are all sat together at a desk or on couches answering questions. The other ten drivers do the TV pen, which is a U-shape with all of the TV crews standing around the outside and each driver works their way around the U talking to each TV crew. Each crew gets a maximum of two questions per driver. After each practice session, qualifying, and the race itself, the drivers will do the TV pen again and speak to written media. The top three finishers also do the post-race press conference.
Q: How much interaction is there between broadcasting teams from different countries?
A: A lot. They all see each other regularly so they get to know each other, and they often chat amongst themselves to communicate about what drivers have said to their home broadcasters, because they usually give longer/more detailed answers when they’re speaking in their native language.
Q: How does breaking news get shared with everyone?
A: Press releases used to be printed out on paper and handed out in the Media Center. Now each F1 team has a WhatsApp group specifically for media so they send info that way (e.g. about driver availability for interviews or problems with the cars) in addition to email and social media.
Q: Is there a dedicated space for journalists to write up their race reports?
A: Yes, it’s called the Media Center, there are desks, TV screens, food, and drinks (especially coffee!). The press conference room is in the Media Center as well, adjacent to the work area where journalists can sit and write.
Q: Has Bernie ever had a debrief delayed [when she was a team strategist] due to media interviews running long?
A: Many of the debriefs have been delayed by drivers, and blaming it on the media is an easy out when maybe it was actually the driver who stopped to get a coffee or whatever. Each F1 driver has their own press officer who helps them meet all of their press responsibilities. Often the drivers will talk longer than they are supposed to; Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri are specifically named as drivers who are very good at going off on tangents and talking to the media for too long. One time, Alex spent a good amount of time ranting about the roundabouts in Milton Keynes near the Red Bull factory is based.
Q: How is the order of the garages in the pit lane decided? Are there advantages to being in certain positions and does it play into race strategy?
A: At most tracks, the garages are in order based on how the teams finished in the constructor’s championship the previous year, so over a given season, the garages on either side of your teams don’t change. Sometimes the previous champions are right at the pit lane entry, sometimes near the exit, that depends on the track. If you’re right at the entry, it’s easier to come in and pit (i.e. there aren’t any other team’s mechanics in your way), but more difficult to get back out on track. Near the pit exit, the opposite is true (harder to get in, easier to get out). Depending on the track, it can be helpful to be right near the pit exit (e.g. if you want to get right out on track with clear air in front of you, Bernie mentions Monaco) or further back (e.g. if it’s better to have some other cars go first in qualifying, Bernie mentions Monza). The only exception to the rule of “garages are in order of last year’s championship standings” is Silverstone, where the pit lane is at about the same height as the track in the middle but at either end the pit lane is lower than the track so visibility is impaired. Because of this, the garages in the center (with a good view of the track) are considered most desirable and are thus taken by the top teams.
Christian Hewgill points out how surprising/impressive it is that drivers don’t pull into the wrong pit box more often. For example, at the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, Jenson Button accidentally parked in the wrong garage and it cost him the lead in the race to Sebastian Vettel. Bernie points out that teams have done a lot of things to help drivers get to the correct pit lanes. It often happens when drivers switch teams (e.g. Lewis Hamilton once went into the McLaren pit when he had just moved to Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel went to the Ferrari pit once after he had switched to Aston Martin).
Q: What is parc fermé? What are the restrictions? How are they enforced?
A: Parc fermé is a period of time in which teams are not allowed to touch their cars or make any changes related to performance, however they can make changes related to safety. It promotes sustainability and rewards teams that do well in practice figuring out what works best for that track. During sprint weekends, teams only have one practice before the cars go into parc fermé, which makes it particularly difficult to adjust the cars to the track. Cars do often get taken apart and reassembled while in parc fermé to check components, clean things, etc., but the F1/FIA scrutineers will put stickers on the car parts to make sure the same parts are used when reassembling the car.
Q: What is an anti-stall? How is it different from a regular stall?
A: (Note that I am basically quoting Bernie verbatim here because I’ve never driven a manual/stick-shift car and don’t understand the details of how they work!) An anti-stall is very similar to a normal stall, but F1 have come up with clever ways to make sure the car engines don’t actually stall. In a regular manual car, if you were to let the clutch out too much or not give it enough throttle and the car stalled, the engine would cut out. At the starting grid, the driver might do the same thing (e.g. not give it enough throttle) and the car might stall, but the engine doesn’t actually cut out. (Another note: it’s not explicitly stated, but I think this is a safety thing so that even if the car stalls and doesn’t get a super fast start, the driver will be able to accelerate pretty quickly after, instead of sitting on the grid unable to move while the cars behind start crashing into the stalled car.)
Q: Why do F1 teams change names?
A: OK I started writing this in a way that makes sense beyond the short answers given on the podcast, but it really needs to be a separate post. The short answer to “why do teams change names?” is money. (Shocker!)
Sometimes a team that also makes something else wants to promote one of their brands, e.g. Renault rebranding to Alpine, which is Renault’s sports car brand, or Toro Rosso rebranding to AlphaTauri, which is Red Bull’s clothing line.
Sometimes a team will have a sponsor who pays enough money to be a title sponsor, e.g. Oracle Red Bull Racing or the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, where Oracle and Petronas are completely separate companies that pay a lot of money in addition to providing relevant expertise to their teams.
(In the other post, I’ll get into Sauber/Alfa Romeo/Stake/Kick, don’t worry. 😂)
Q: How is the number of laps in a Grand Prix determined?
A: The number of laps for a given circuit is however many laps are needed to get to a 305 km (~190 mi) race distance. The exception is Monaco where the distance is 260 km (~162 mi).
With F1 car launches in full force, I have been looking into why teams name their cars the way that they do. Each team has a different naming convention. Some of the naming conventions are easy to understand like RB19. Then there are the many Ferrari naming conventions (SF-23, F1-75, SF1000, etc).
So here are the current naming conventions for each team in order of car launch dates.
Haas
The 2024 Haas car is called the VF-24.
In an article for the 2016 Haas Car Launch, it was explained why they named the car the VF-16.
The first CNC machine manufactured by Haas Automation in 1988. It was unofficially named the VF-1, otherwise known as the Very First 1. For Formula 1, Haas kept the VF and changed the 1 for the last two digits of the year. VF-16 = 2016, VF-23 = 2023, etc.
Williams
The 2024 Williams car is called the FW46.
Every car by Williams has carried the FW prefix, with the first one being the FW06 in 1978. The FW in the name stands for the founder of the team, Sir Frank Williams. Despite the Williams family no longer being involved in the team, the current owners have kept the naming convention as a link to the storied history of Williams Racing.
If the car keeps the same chassis as the previous year, then a B is added to the end of the name to show that it is a B-Spec car (and on a few occasions there have been C-Spec cars).
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber
The 2024 Sauber car is called the C44.
Sauber made its debut with the C12 in 1993 and has since used this naming convention except for the BMW Sauber years. But after BMW left, Sauber returned to using C and picked up the numbers where it would have been if the naming convention hadn't changed.
The C stands for Peter Sauber's wife Christiane. His first car was called the C1 and since then all Sauber cars (with the exception of the BMW Sauber cars) have used the C for Christiane.
Alpine
The 2024 Alpine car is called the A524.
Since Renault became Alpine in 2021, all of their cars have had the following naming formula: A + 5 + the last two digits of the year.
In January 2021, the team explained why the 2021 car was called the A521. The A is for Alpine. The 5 is for A500, which was a prototype for the 1975 F1 season. All of the cars since 2021, have followed this naming convention and have just changed the 21 to correspond with the current year.
Visa Cash App RB
The Visa Cash App RB 2024 car is called the VCARB 01.
There really isn't much about the team as of right now due to the rebrand changing up everything from the previous AlphaTauri stuff. However, VCARB is the acronym for the team name and this is the first car to be run under the rebrand, thus the 01.
Aston Martin
The Aston Martin 2024 car is called the AMR24.
Since 2021, Aston Martin has used the same naming convention: AMR + the last 2 digits of the current year. The AMR stands for Aston Martin Racing.
Ferrari
The 2024 Ferrari car is named the SF-24.
However, unlike the other teams, it is hard to predict what the Ferrari will be named. In recent years, there have been the F1-75, SF21, SF1000, SF90, F14-T, and 150º Italia just to list a few of the names.
For 2024, it is a simple naming convention that has been used in the past. SF = Scuderia Ferrari and then the last two digits of the year the car will be run.
RacingNews365 made a chart of every Ferrari car since 2000 and the meaning behind the name. For the most part, the formula for naming the car is either Ferrari/Scuderia Ferrari + year or important event commemoration.
Ferrari also uses the dash inconsistently which doesn't really mean anything, but is just not the most aesthetically pleasing when looking at a list of all the car names.
Mercedes
The 2024 Mercedes car is called the W15.
All Mercedes cars have had a W in the car name, even the 1954 and 1955 cars. The 2010 Mercedes car was the W01 and since then the team has continued chronologically.
The W stands for Wagen which means car in German.
McLaren
The 2024 McLaren car is called the MCL38.
The numbers have been ascending since almost the beginning with a few B-Spec cars for the most part. However, the beginning letters have changed over the years. Since 2017, McLaren has used MCL. And just as it looks, MCL is short for McLaren.
The 2023 car didn't have the chronological number due to honoring McLaren's 60 years of history.
Red Bull
The 2024 Red Bull car is named the RB 20.
Since its first year, the Red Bull cars have been given the RB designation along with a chronologically ascending number. The RB as expected stands for Red Bull.
The RB 20 marks 20 seasons of Red Bull in Formula One.
