A Beginner's Guide to... The Formula 1 Ladder

The 2024 season will feature Williams Racing competing in more racing series than ever, with further additions to our Williams Racing Academy for the upcoming year.

Formula 1 is the target for all our academy drivers, but the road to reaching the top can seem complex and multifaceted to those unfamiliar with junior racing.

While F1 may be the most renowned tier, understanding the entire ecosystem, including Formula 2, Formula 3, F1 Academy and beyond, is crucial to appreciating motorsport's depth and the remarkable journey of our drivers.

You might be familiar with the F1 ladder or F1 pyramid expressions but have never understood the differences between each step.

This article will delve into each tier to provide a guide on how each series works and its role in the wider world of motorsport.

Formula 1, often abbreviated as F1, represents the peak of single-seater racing.

It boasts an unparalleled and growing global motorsport fanbase and is where the world's most advanced racing technology develops.

Indeed, the allure of F1 lies not only in the skill of its drivers but also in the mechanical and aerodynamical marvels they pilot, with teams continually developing cutting-edge engineering feats to best their rivals.

All the constructors refine their cars to be as close to the limit as possible, with each featuring state-of-the-art hybrid engines and advanced aerodynamics designed to extract maximum performance.

Unlike other racing categories - including those listed below - each team takes pride in developing and building their cars, tailoring them to the unique combination of their two drivers' styles and the season's regulations.

This constant innovation and development make F1 more than a sport between the 20 athletes in the cockpits on grand prix weekends — it is a constant battleground of technological advancement.

The car matters here more than in any other series, and the never-ending drive for success comes by improving every part involved, both the mechanical components and the drivers themselves.

Controlling and developing every part of the cars and seeking marginal improvements at every level sets F1 apart from every other single-seater racing series.

Formula 2 (F2) is often the final hurdle for aspiring racers aiming to reach the top.

Acting as the primary support series on the weekends when it supports an F1 grand prix, F2 offers a platform for drivers to showcase their talent in front of the all-important eyes of team bosses, not to mention the thousands of attending fans.

With two races in each of F2's 14 grand prix weekends, the championship's 28-race season travels all around the globe at all but 10 F1 events in 2024.

Formula 2 operates as a spec series, meaning all teams use identical specification chassis and engines to bring a level playing field.

Instead, the emphasis is placed squarely on each driver's skills rather than the technological advantages of the cars they drive.

Nonetheless, the competition between teams is still fierce, and each will try to lure the best drivers, mechanics, and engineers to extract the most from the homologated chassis and engine to beat their rivals.

As you may expect, F2 is a less powerful series than their F1, with turbocharged 3.4-litre V6 Mecachrome engines powering each of the 22 cars.

Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara will debut a new car for 2024 with updated aero, safety features, brakes, and electronics to help prepare drivers for their journey to the top.

Although slower than F1, F2 is still a quick and demanding championship to contest and will often represent the fastest year of racing for all drivers involved.

Unlike F1, which has Sprint weekends at certain rounds, F2 always has two types of races: a Feature Race and a Sprint Race.

A single 45-minute practice precedes a 30-minute qualifying session on Friday, with the driver claiming pole position scoring two points.

Saturday sees the Sprint Race begin with the top 10 drivers from qualifying starting in reverse-grid order for a 45-minute (or 120 km) run to the flag, with P8 and above scoring reduced points: 10 for the victor, one for eighth.

The Feature Race, an hour-long (or 170 km) race, follows F1's point-scoring methodology and is the main event of an F2 weekend, serving as the perfect support race ahead of a Grand Prix.

In these Feature Races, the drivers will encounter mandatory pit stops for the first time on the motorsport ladder, further preparing them for the jump to F1.

Both races give the driver who claims the fastest lap a bonus point if they finish in the top 10 positions.

Formula 3 (F3) is a springboard for aspiring drivers vaulting from national or regional racing to the international exposure of the F1 weekend.

Alongside its elder sibling, Formula 2, F3 supports some F1 grands prix over the season to create a global 10-round, 20-race championship.

Compared to their Formula 2 counterparts, F3 cars are less powerful, equipped with 3.4-litre naturally aspirated engines that deliver around 380 horsepower.

There is also far simpler aerodynamics than the categories above, but F3 introduces DRS for the first time on the racing ladder, leading to action-packed racing with frequent overtakes throughout the field.

As with F2, the chassis and engine are the same across the 30-car field, and with so many talented young drivers battling in the championship, F3 is an essential training ground for honing racecraft.

F3 is very similar to Formula 2 in terms of weekend format, with a single practice session, qualifying, two races (Sprint and Feature), and points for the polesitter and fastest lap drivers.

Fridays mimic the F2 timetable, with a 45-minute practice session before a 30-minute qualifying session to decide the starting order for both races.

The races, however, are not the same, and F3 has shorter lengths, different points, and a tweaked reverse-grid format.

Saturday's Sprint Race sees the top 12 drivers from qualifying start in reverse order, with the remaining 18 starting in the position they qualified.

A 40-minute race to the flag has the top 10 finishers all scoring points, with 10 points for P1, nine for P2, and so on until P10, who takes home one.

Like F2, an F3 Feature Race on Sunday adheres to the F1 point-scoring rules but is 15 minutes shorter at 45 minutes, and they do not require mandatory pit stops.

F1 Academy represents a significant and progressive initiative in motorsports by focusing on empowering and promoting female drivers.

The championship launched in 2023 to nurture and showcase the talents of women in a sport that has long been male-dominated.

Sometimes billed as the spiritual successor of W Series, the female-only championship where our very own Jamie Chadwick won three titles, F1 Academy is a proving ground for young drivers under 25 to prepare for a single-seater future.

The cars used in F1 Academy are modified from the Tatuus F4-T-421, a chassis widely used across many national F4 championships, to bridge the gap from karting to car racing.

As with the steps between Formula 1, 2, and 3, these aren't as powerful or aerodynamically advanced as those used in higher championships, with turbocharged 4-cylinder 165-horsepower engines from Autotecnica inside.

Also, like F2 and F3, these are the same chassis and engine across the grid for each of the five teams, meaning the drivers must find the best setup and race faster than their competitors if they want to win.

They are powerful enough to provide a genuine racing experience while being accessible for drivers transitioning from lower tiers to begin their understanding of how formula racing works.

The race format in the F1 Academy provides maximum exposure and development opportunities for its participants with far more track time than those in F2 or F3.

Along with in-season test days, the 15 drivers join F1 seven times over the season for their rounds, and each round sees two 40-minute practice sessions, two 15-minute qualifying sessions, and three races.

The two qualifying sessions determine the grid for Race 1 (first qualifying) and Race 3 (second qualifying), giving the drivers two chances to clinch pole position and the two points that go along with it.

F1 point-scoring rules are in place for each of these 30-minute races, meaning the top 10 score, and the winner takes away 25 points.

Meanwhile, Race 2 sees the top eight drivers from the first qualifying session start in reverse grid order for a shorter 20-minute race where the top eight finishers score reduced points as in F2's Sprint Race.

An additional point is available for the driver taking the fastest lap in all three races, provided that they also finish in the top 10, meaning a whopping 67 points are available every round.

The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, often initialised to FRECA, also sits below Formula 3 in the F1 pyramid to bridge the gap between national Formula 4 racing and the international spotlight of Formula 3.

Unlike F1 Academy, there are no gender restrictions, but the championship still introduces drivers to a more diverse range of tracks, racing conditions, and competitors than they might've encountered in any national racing series.

As the name suggests, all the racing takes part across Europe, meaning the drivers get a taste of some of the continent's best circuits like Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, and Spielberg.

FRECA is one of several regional championships that sit above national Formula 4, advancing drivers from their first taste of Formula racing to competing at a higher level.

And, of course, before Formula 4, there is the grassroots level of motorsport, karting, where almost all professional racers begin their career as young drivers.

Karting provides an invaluable basis for understanding racing dynamics and is essential for developing quick reflexes, precision driving, and racecraft; skills that continue developing through all the tiers of racing.

The simplicity and relative affordability of karting make it an accessible entry point for many aspiring racers, offering a real-world platform where they can begin to hone their talents from a young age.