The path to driving for a Formula 1 race team starts at an early age, often in the elementary years in competitive karting, to develop the essential skills for racing. From there, the young drivers must prove themselves through subsequent open-wheel racing series like Formula 3, then Formula 2.
Although F1 is currently gaining popularity in the United States, there have been more than 50 American drivers throughout the sport’s almost 75-year history. The most famous is Mario Andretti after winning the 1978 Formula One World Championship.
From season to season, the rules presented by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) change, making it so much more than a race, but the ultimate engineering competition.
Some teams had a bigger budget than others and in years past, could and would spend up to $500 million a year on whatever needed to manufacture the best cars.
Formula 1 is a team sport with over $900 million in prize money to be divided up upon the Constructors Championship; it is a points race unto itself that tallies the score of the finishing position of both drivers on each team for every race.