somewhat embarrassingly, via my university boyfriend. I had kind of a vague awareness of f1 because this was around the time that the singapore gp was put back on the calendar (and I'm from singapore) but he was properly into it and so I used to sit down and watch races with him most weekends. (I had also gone to uni in the uk so this meant that the races were at sensible times!) having someone sit down next to you and explain the strategy and what was going on was SO helpful. now the boyfriend is gone but my love for f1 remains :)

in the absence of a personal live-explainer, I know that a lot of people have gotten into f1 via drive to survive, which might be a helpful route into why people find the sport exciting, though imo it doesn't do a great job of explaining the actual strategy. but the commentary on races, the on-screen graphics, and the tv direction, has improved hugely in the last decade - so with DTS to provide context you might be able to get by with just watching the races and paying attention.

I also used to listen to a couple of f1 podcasts - less so now because I feel like they all kinda say the same thing - but that could be useful for a beginner. chequered flag is the one I listened to the most, but I know some friends really like shift+f1 too. I've also listened to choosing sides, which was a limited series structured around the concept of helping a newbie pick a team to support, and I think they've done a second season about different types of fans - which is a framing device to explain different aspects of the sport. it's a fun introducer!

a word of warning though - while I personally find f1 very exciting and dramatic, at its heart it is still a sport, and being an f1 fan is very much like following any sport. it's not formed of endless Big Moments, but of little ones that build up into a narrative over time. and that's a big part of the fun of it for me, being involved in that progression and watching how things play out - but if you go in expecting the kind of endless High Drama that is shown in DTS or in f1 aus, you are likely to be disappointed. I still think it's worth exploring if you're interested - and lots of people who wouldn't have thought of themselves as "sports fans" have found a love for f1 - but do keep a realistic expectation about what following it is going to be like! and there's no shame as well in having a passing interest without wanting to be super diehard, watching every single race and getting involved in all the discourse - there's no right or wrong way to be a fan :) if you have any other questions please ask me, I'm always so happy to introduce more ppl to the sport!