Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules with which all participants' cars must comply. The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix (from French, originally meaning grand prizes), held on purpose-built circuits and public roads. The results of each race are combined with a points system to determine two annual World Championships, one for the drivers and one for the constructors. The racing drivers, constructor teams, track officials, organizers, and circuits are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the highest class of racing licence issued by the FIA.

Formula One cars are considered to be the fastest circuit-racing cars in the world, owing to very high cornering speeds achieved through the generation of large amounts of aerodynamic downforce. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to 360 km/h (220 mph) with engines limited in performance to a maximum of 18,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). The cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of 5 g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension and tyres. The formula has had much evolution and change through the history of the sport. Europe, the sport's traditional base, is where about half of each year's races occur. That said, the sport's scope has expanded significantly during recent years and an increasing number of Grands Prix are held on other continents.

Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian racing driver who drove for Virgin Racing in the 2010 Formula One season. He is currently Pirelli's official test driver for the 2011 Formula One season and the 2012 Formula One season.

Di Grassi's career in karting peaked in 2000, with a 5th place in the Formula A World Championship. Di Grassi began his formula racing career in Brazilian Formula Renault in 2002, finishing as runner-up to champion Sérgio Jimenez.

In 2003 Di Grassi stepped up to Formula Three, driving a Dallara F301 Mugen-Honda for Avallone Motorsport in Formula Three Sudamericana. He finished as the championship runner-up behind Danilo Dirani, with one win and eleven other podium finishes. This came despite missing the last six races after suffering a major crash at the Curitiba round.

He also travelled to Europe to make four race starts in the F3 Euroseries with Prema Powerteam, achieving a best finish of fourth place. The following year, he made a permanent move to Europe and took a drive with Hitech Racing in the British F3 Championship. His season peaked with two wins, and he was classified in eighth place overall. Another of that year's highlights was a podium finish on his début at the Macau Grand Prix with Hitech.

Sebastian Vettel (German pronunciation: [zeˈbasti̯an ˈfɛtəl]; born 3 July 1987) is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in 2010 and 2011.

In his first year driving for Red Bull in 2009, Vettel finished the season as the youngest-ever World Drivers' championship runner-up. He also secured Red Bull's first pole position and race win in the team's history. The following year he went on to become the youngest driver ever to win the World Drivers' Championship. In the same year he helped Red Bull win the team's first World Constructors' Championship. He followed up his first championship with a second in 2011, becoming the youngest double as well as youngest consecutive champion.

Vettel holds numerous other "youngest" Formula One records, among them: the youngest driver to have taken part in an official practice session of a Grand Prix, to score championship points, to lead a race, to secure pole position, and to win a race.

Daniel Ricciardo (born 1 July 1989 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian racing driver who is currently competing in Formula 1 for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He won the British Formula Three Championship in 2009.

Ricciardo started karting at the age of nine and entered numerous karting events since. In 2005, he entered the Western Australian Formula Ford championship driving a 15-year-old Van Diemen, finishing eighth by season's end. Towards the end of the season Ricciardo took a leased 13-year-old Van Diemen across to Sandown Raceway in Melbourne to compete at the national Formula Ford series but his ageing car was uncompetitive as he finished sixteenth, seventeenth and retired during the weekend's three races. The following year, however, he won a scholarship into the Formula BMW Asian championship with Eurasia Motorsport. During his début season, Ricciardo took two victories (both at Bira) and also achieved a pole position at Zhuhai. He finished third in the Drivers' Championship with 231 points, 59 points behind the champion Earl Bamber.