These are more than cars. They’re science experiments.
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I love Formula 1. This isn’t just a car race, it’s a massive group science competition. Ten teams are all fighting to be first, and on every team there are hundreds of people, spending millions of dollars, all working together to push technology to its limit.

In this video, we’re gonna show you what it takes to build and drive some of the fastest and most expensive cars in the world. We’ll give you rare access into a factory in England where they build these cars and into a garage in Bahrain where they race them. This is Formula 1 cars, explained!

One note because it’s important to me you never be confused about what is paid for and what isn’t: Oracle comped my flights, but didn’t have any say in the editorial and didn’t see the episode before it went live. The Red Bull F1 Team did not pay me, had no say in the editorial, and didn’t see the episode before publish either. Everything I say here is entirely my own.

Chapters:
0:00 What is a Formula 1 car?
1:13 What do F1 cars look like?
3:08 What’re the rules for F1 cars?
4:12 Where do they keep old F1 cars?
4:53 What’s the goal of F1?
5:30 How does an F1 car go so fast?
7:26 … Can I sit in an F1 car??
9:06 How is an F1 car built?
11:55 How is an F1 car painted?
12:42 How does an F1 engine work?
15:45 Sneak peak: Red Bull’s new engine sound
16:34 How do you race an F1 car?
17:40 What does it feel like to drive an F1 car?
18:30 OH NO
18:51 What does an F1 steering wheel look like?
19:22 What is a pit stop?
20:02 What are F1 tires like?
20:28 How do you WIN an F1 race?
22:08 Why care about Formula 1?
23:18 Thank you :)

Corrections:
4:59 Track direction should go the other way!
5:38 Track direction goes the other way. Sorry about that.

You can find me on TikTok here for short, fun tech explainers:   / cleoabram  
You can find me on Instagram here for more personal stories:   / cleoabram  
You can find me on Twitter here for thoughts, threads and curated news:   / cleoabram  

Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Additional reading and watching:
- “Formula 1, explained for rookies” - our previous Huge If True episode on the sport itself    • Formula 1, explained for rookies  
- “How Red Bull is Breaking F1,” by Search Party    • How Red Bull is breaking Formula 1  
- My favorite newsletter on F1, Engine Failure by Lily Herman: bit.ly/EngineFailureF1
- “F1 Aerodynamics: The Basics” by Chain Bear    • F1 Aerodynamics - 1: The Basics  
- “F1 Drivers Explain F1,” from F1    • F1 Drivers Explain F1  
- “Formula 1: Explained” by MKBHD    • Formula One: Explained!  
- How Oracle Race Strategy Works: https://www.oracle.com/customers/red-...
- “How a Formula 1 Race Car Works” by Animagraffs    • How a Formula 1 Race Car Works  
- “The Insane Logistics of F1,” by Wendover Productions    • The Insane Logistics of Formula 1  
- “Why F1 Banned Their Best Car,” by Donut Media    • Why F1 Banned Their Best Car  
- Latest Updates from Red Bull: https://www.redbullracing.com/int-en
- “How to Make F1 Sounds,” by Matt Chambers :)    • How to make F1 Sounds  

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed

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—
Welcome to the joke down low:

What do you get when dinosaurs crash their cars?
Tyrannosaurus wrecks

Find a way to use “tyrannosaurus” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one who made it to the end of the description :)