A modern Formula One car: Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari at the 2005 United States Grand Prix.

Single-seater (open-wheel) racing is perhaps the most well-known form of motorsport, with cars designed specifically for high-speed racing. The wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track.

Single-seater races are held on specially designed closed circuits or street circuits closed for the event. Many single-seater races in North America are held on “oval” circuits and the Indy Racing League races mostly on ovals.

The best-known variety of single-seater racing is the Formula One World Championship, which involves an annual championship of around 18 races a year featuring major international car and engine manufacturers such as Ferrari, McLaren and Renault in an ongoing battle of technology and driver skill. Formula One is, by any measure, the most expensive sport in the world, with some teams spending in excess of 200 million US dollars per year. Formula One is widely considered to be the pinnacle of motorsports. In North America, the cars used in the National Championship (currently Champcars and the Indy Racing League) have traditionally been similar to F1 cars but with more restrictions on technology aimed at helping to control costs.

Other single-seater racing series are the A1 Grand Prix (the world cup of motorsport), GP2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and Formula Two), Formula Nippon, Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as the World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan), Formula Three and Formula Atlantic.

There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing, which employs a small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of today’s top drivers started their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents a popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

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