10 Things to Do While You Wait for Formula One to Return

The Wai-ai-ting is the Hardest Part

Jan 17, 2025

We’re still more than a month away from pre-season testing, and two months away from the 2025 Australian GP and the start of a new F1 season. I get that during the F1 season, the travel and competition schedule is grueling for everyone on the team. I am 100% in favor of folks getting time off, and then a “dormant” period when drivers are training and engineers are engineering. I’m here for it.

And yet…

Life feels a little desolate without Formula One.

If you, like me, find yourself with hours of your weekend that you once devoted to F1 and are now inconsolably bored, here are 10 things you can do while you wait for Formula 1 to return.

1. Spend too much time on Reddit and Instagram.

The first refuge for bored F1 fans: the internet. Specifically, the part of the internet devoted to Formula 1. No race this weekend? No problem! Simply spend hours scrolling on driver Instagram, or on Reddit forums like r/formuladank.

2. Watch Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix.

Probably you’ve already seen it. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. If you’ve already watched it, watch it again. It will probably scratch that F1 itch. Maybe. If that doesn’t do the trick, watch every film and documentary you can find about motorsports. A few personal favorites are Talladega Nights and Hurley.

3. Take in Other F1 Content

If you’re looking for more F1 content to imbibe, I highly recommend The Red Flags podcast, or F1: Beyond the Grid. You can also read actual books like Adrian Newey’s memoir How to Build a Car or – someday – you’ll get to read my book which is a queer retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night set in an open-wheel racing league heavily inspired by F1. Basically, it’s She’s the Man with gay racecar drivers.

You’re welcome.

If you want to know when the book comes out, pre-orders, etc. you should definitely subscribe to this newsletter. It’s free! I’ll make it easy for you by putting the subscribe button right here.

4. IDK, socialize with other humans, I guess?

Maybe looking at Formula 1 content outside the season is just going to make you more depressed that the next GP is still two months away. Maybe you need to totally F1 detox for a while. You could…I dunno…see people? Like, go on dates? Hang out with your friends? Your non-F1 friends might be really excited to see you during a time of the year when they don’t have to schedule meetups around the race schedule, and you have the brain capacity to talk about something besides F1.

Maybe I should start a dating app for F1 fans, so that you can find love during the off season and will have a partner to watch races with when the season resumes. **Makes note in phone**

5. Start a new hobby.

My wife and I said we were going to learn to draw during the off season. So far, that is only sort of panning out. I’ve been drawing a little bit but not doing any of the online classes I signed up for. I drew the Five Red Lights logo! (Which is why it looks a little squiggly.)

My wife hasn’t been drawing, but she did build us a cool racing sim in our office that she’s been playing on. I’ve done a little bit of the sim, but unfortunately, it makes me nauseous to do it for too long.

6. Learn to drive stick shift.

I’m supposed to learn to drive my wife’s manual transmission sports car. So far, I’ve only done a couple of sessions in the parking lot. She assures me that I’m doing well, but the idea of stalling out in traffic stresses me out. Also, the fact that braking isn’t just stepping on the brakes???

My car has paddle shifters but no clutch. I keep saying that I’m going to start using the paddle shifters, both because the car runs better that way, and as training wheels for learning to do real stick shift.

So far, I haven’t. Maybe during the F1 off season? Probably not. A girl can dream though.

7. Maybe clean your apartment?

Speaking of aspirations, I keep fooling myself that the two hours of a Formula 1 GP is the perfect time to do some cleaning, laundry, and cooking. We have an open floor plan in our apartment, so unless I’m cleaning the bathroom, I’m never really that far from the TV…but unless the race is an absolute snoozefest, I’m too locked in to actually do any chores. (And if the race is a snoozefest, I’d usually rather take an F1 Nap.™) (I’ll explain more about the F1 Nap™ in my next post when I explain my F1 origin story.)

So, in theory, now that there are no Formula One races to watch, you do have the time to clean your apartment/ home. (A girl can dream.)

8. Actually take care of your body.

And while we’re on the subject of taking care of things you don’t take care of on race weekends (because you are simply too busy) the off season might be the time to eat vegetables (because now you have time to cook) and I guess exercise a little bit?

9. Rearrange your finances and entire life so you can go to a Formula 1 GP.

Without F1, you now have the time and mental energy to do your budget and financial planning. This is the time to figure out how many kidneys you will have to sell in order to see an F1 race in real life.

10. Look for a job on an F1 team.

And, if you simply can’t live without F1 (even for 100 days), you could always get a new job working for an F1 Team or the FiA. Look at job listings on their websites. Use all the time you are not spending on watching F1 races to update your resumé and start applying!