What Is F1 and How Can You Look Up Formula 1 Results and Statistics?

Updated

F1 stands for Formula 1, the highest class of single-seater racing sanctioned by the FIA. A season is made up of Grands Prix, and each event produces results and statistics that can be looked up by season, race, driver, constructor, engine, tyre, nation, or circuit. If you want historical F1 data, a statistics site such as STATS F1 is a practical starting point, but note that it describes itself as an amateur site with no connection to the Formula One Group or the FIA, so official sources remain the authority for regulatory or officially confirmed information.

What F1 Is

F1 is a championship rather than a single race. Its core competitive storylines are:

  • Grands Prix — individual events held through the season, each with its own result.
  • Drivers' championship — points accumulated by drivers across the season.
  • Constructors' championship — points accumulated by teams.

A typical Grand Prix weekend includes practice, qualifying, and the race. Some weekends also include a Sprint session, which appears as a separate item in results listings.

What You Can Look Up

Statistics sites organise F1 data into several dimensions. On STATS F1, the main entry points include:

Category What it covers
Seasons Year-by-year championship information
Grands Prix Race-by-race entries and results
Drivers Career and per-race driver data
Constructors Team-level records
Engines Engine-related statistics
Tyres Tyre-related statistics
Nations Country-level data
Circuits Track-level data

Within a race weekend, the available result types include:

  • Race result
  • Race entrants
  • Laps led
  • Sprint
  • Best laps
  • Qualifications
  • Lap by lap
  • Starting grid

This means you can answer questions such as who won a given race, where a driver started, how many laps they led, or who set the fastest lap.

How to Look Up a Result or Statistic

  1. Decide the dimension. If you know the race, start from Grands Prix. If you know the driver, start from Drivers. If you know the year, start from Seasons.
  2. Narrow to the event or person. Select the specific Grand Prix, driver, or constructor.
  3. Choose the result type. For a race outcome, use the race result. For grid position, use the starting grid. For pace, use best laps or lap-by-lap data.
  4. Cross-check anything official. For regulatory matters, entries, or officially confirmed records, use FIA or Formula 1 official sources rather than a fan statistics site.

Worked Example

Suppose you want to know how many wins Max Verstappen has and on how many different circuits he has won. A statistics site surfaces this directly in its "Did you know?" style facts — for example, noting a 73rd win, wins on 27 different circuits, a 250th Grand Prix, and a 50th pole position. You can then verify the underlying detail by opening the driver page and the relevant race pages rather than relying on the summary line alone.

Common Pitfalls

  • Treating a fan site as official. STATS F1 states plainly that it is amateur and not approved or sponsored by the Formula One Group or the FIA.
  • Confusing session types. A Sprint result is not the same as the Grand Prix result; check which session a number belongs to.
  • Assuming a single "result" covers everything. Race result, qualifying, grid, and fastest lap are separate datasets.
  • Ignoring season context. A win total only makes sense alongside the season and constructor it was achieved with.

Bottom Line

Use F1 statistics sites for fast, structured lookups across seasons, races, drivers, constructors, engines, tyres, nations, and circuits — and use official FIA or Formula 1 sources when the answer needs to be authoritative.