One category of sports that are often overlooked even though they may be one of the most physically and mentally demanding are the many types of motorsports. Whether you like to watch cars or motorcycles, open or closed wheels, or on and off road racing there is always something for you to watch it just depends whether you know which one it is. 

The most prestigious racing sport is Formula 1. This is the goal that most people entering the category are looking to get into. Formula 1 uses open wheel cars that are widely regarded as the best cars in motorsports that could beat any other in a race on a circuit. In Formula 1 there are 10 teams of 2 with a limit of 11. These teams are very famous and are Redbull, Mclaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, Racing Bulls, Alpine, Haas, Williams, Aston Martin, and Kick Sauber. In the 2026 season there will be 11 teams with Cadillac joining the fray. The F1 season spans across most of the year and travels around the world. A driver scores points by ending a race in the top 10 with more points being awarded the higher you go. To decide placement on the starting grid the drivers spend the day before the race participating in qualifiers and are ordered by fastest to slowest time. Formula 1 has 4 types of tires that can be swapped in pit stops that are scheduled strategically across the race. There are slicks, softs, that are fastest but last less time; mediums which last longer; hards that are slower but last the longest time; and wets, which are for when there is water on the course because they are slower but their treading adds traction for when there is water. Like most other racing sports the main goal of the race is to keep their tires warm so that they can go faster. Formula 1 is different from other motorsports because the teams design their own cars that can be better or worse than the other teams. There is still a strict “Formula” that they must follow to be allowed to race. 

A driver cannot just start in Formula 1. There is a roughly laid out ladder for them to follow. This ladder is not necessarily required and some drivers do skip many parts of it. It starts at a young age with karting generally. These karts can exceed speeds of 150 miles per hour. Then drivers can go to their local Formula 4 league which is generally localized like, F4 U.S., F4 U.K., F4 Japan, F4 Spain, etc. The Formula 4 leagues in Spain and the U.K. are generally considered to be the hardest because of the developed racing communities in those areas. Next is Formula 3 which is still localized but is usually over larger areas like continents. The final step on the basic ladder is Formula 2 which is the most professional and some drivers will end up here. They race before the F1 race on their weekends at the F1 race’s location. After karting each of these cars get faster and are all open wheel and roughly resemble a Formula 1 car but are a little more simple. In F4 you can change your car under the F4 league’s “Formula” like in F1, but in F2 and F3 all of the cars are the same so that the driver’s skill can be measured more easily.

In Japan there is a unique league that is called Super Formula. It serves as a Japanese racing series that is faster than F2 but is slower than F1. There isn’t too much to say about Super Formula because it is very similar to F1 with all cars being made by the teams under their own ruleset. This is basically a Japanese alternative to F1 likely because of no F1 teams being centered in Japan. 

One more FIA racing series is Formula Electric, Formula E. This could be a ladder to F1 but many drivers stay here. This uses electric open wheel cars that are faster than F2 but slower than Super Formula and F1. Formula E’s goal is not to replace F1 because they could easily go faster than the hybrid V6 engines in F1 cars. Formula E takes advantage of being slower and electric by taking more city circuits that only smaller cars like F2 and F3 could use and also using some courses that are partially inside which is possible because they do not release any exhaust. Unfortunately the batteries in FE cars do not last a whole race so instead of pitting for a new one each driver has 2 cars and switches during a pitstop mid race. Formula E is also a good series for F1 drivers that lose their seat or retire. There are some strange rules in Formula E like how you must use one during the race which is called Attack mode where you take a turn on the outside to gain a speed boost that gives an advantage to the driver of that car.

There is another popular open wheel racing series centered in North America called Indycar. An Indycar has many similarities and differences to F1 cars. Like F1, Indycar is a spec series which means teams can make differences to the cars to gain an upper hand during competition. Some differences are that there is more power and downforce on an F1 car but Indycars have wider tires that provide more grip. They also have a windshield and covering plates for the wheels which allow for some aerodynamics that F1 cars cannot have. Indycars are known for racing on a wider variety of courses than F1 cars as well. They will spend a third of the season’s races on each type of course which are ovals, long and short; road circuits, like F1 cars; and street circuits that are set up on public roads which is occasionally done with Formula 1. There is also a feeder series to Indycar called Indycar NXT which is slower that Indycar sort of like Formula 3 is to F1. 

There are several other racing leagues that race on circuits that are quite popular. The World Endurance  Championship, WEC, and International Motorsports Association, IMSA, race a variety of cars. The WEC uses the format of endurance races which have a set time limit and the goal is to go the furthest distance in your car’s category. A popular race in this series is 24 hours at Les Man which takes place in France over 24 hours. The categories are Hypercar and LMGT3. Hypercar races cars that are very aerodynamic and specially made for this kind of racing. LMGT3 races sport cars similar to ones that people can buy which are faster than the street ones and slower than the hypercars which is why they are in a separate class. Both categories race at the same time during events which adds to the difficulty of the series. IMSA is a competing series that uses both endurance races and sprint races which follow a basic race format but are shorter. There are also different categories which are LMP2, hypercars like in WEC; GTP cars are prototype versions of sport cars that are not street legal and are made similarly to hypercars; GTP Pro is a sport car racing category; and GTP is a version of GTP Pro but only with amateur drivers.

Stock cars are types of cars that make up the core of Nascar. Nascar is an American racing series that primarily races on long and short ovals and occasionally street circuits. They are a closed wheel series which means that they have a similar basic structure as a normal car. They do go much faster and teams can adjust the engines a bit but they are not nearly as good on turns as a Formula 1 car or as fast. The main Nascar series is the Cup Series which uses the basic fast stock car around these tracks in many places across the U.S.. There is also a series in Canada that is smaller but holds the same role as the Cup Series for Canada. There are some feeder series for the Cup Series. The Xfinity Series uses cars that look a lot like the cars that are used in the Cup Series but they are slower and have less advanced models. This works as a sort of Formula 2 to Nascar. The Truck Series uses trucks that are wide and function like a Nascar but they are slower than all of the other series and function like a Formula 3 for the Cup Series.

The WRC, World Rally Championship, races rally cars. Rally cars are less aerodynamic and fast as the other series but are made to make cornering and drifting easy. This is because they race on off-road sections. The different surfaces that they race on are dirt, pavement, and gravel which each have their own demands for how the car needs to be driven on it. Unlike the other series there are 2 people in the cockpit with separate jobs. The driver drives the car through these

difficult courses. The navigator takes notes on every bump and turn of the course during qualifying and must call out all of these instructions to the driver in real time so that they can make the precise maneuvers in time. Rally cars used to be a lot more dangerous for the people watching because they would surround the car’s path and get close to getting hit. In the past there have been many deaths and injuries from these unsafe watching conditions but they have improved and are quite safe now.

Another semi-large off-road racing series is Baja. Baja uses large customized trucks that are unlike any street legal ones and race them on off-road courses. Similarly to rally they do get a good bit of air-time and have long races. This is probably the smallest of the racing series that I have listed thus far but it is relatively popular for a motorsport because of the sheer number of smaller series.

Moto GP is like Formula 1 for motorcycles. Moto GP races on circuits like F1 cars and are very agile because of the very low weight to power ratio. They are not quite as fast as Formula 1 but are impressive for a motorcycle. The build of the motorcycle is very narrow and streamlined which differentiates them from street legal motorcycles. This sport is incredibly dangerous but has some very good safety equipment. It is common for drivers to fall off of the bikes and slide at 150 miles per hour across the asphalt and be completely fine.

There are many more motorsports but no matter your preferences it is almost guaranteed that there will be one that you would enjoy. Many people like to claim that these could not be considered sports but they probably don’t know the temperatures, g-force, hand dexterity, reaction time, and general strength needed to participate in these sports. To use F1 as an example the temperatures can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit; world champion Max Verstappen took on 51 gs, 51 times earth’s gravity sideways, in a crash; and the brake in a Formula 1 car needs at least 80 pounds of force to brake it.