There is motor racing and then there is Formula 1. Motor racing is characterized by the acrid stench of oil, raucous noise and gaudy spectacle. F1 takes those basic elements and infuses them with glamour. In the pit lane, Hollywood stars, supermodels, politicians and royalty savor the sweet aroma of fumes and burning rubber, the harmonious sound of finely tuned engines and the blur of multi-million-dollar racing cars flashing by at 200 miles per hour.

This is the sport of jet-setters and “beautiful people.” From March through October, F1 tours the world, starting in Australia and ending in Brazil. This year there will be 17 Grands Prix, contested by 11 teams, each of which enters two cars.

Behind the scenes, it is genuinely a team sport, with legions of designers and mechanics toiling to give their cars a competitive edge. Yet on the racetrack, the focus is on the drivers — modern-day gladiators who risk everything in pursuit of victory. In hot conditions, drivers might expel almost a gallon of sweat, reducing their body weight by 4 percent by the time they pass the checkered flag. In the rain, they endure a soaking, poor visibility through their visors, and the formidable challenge of keeping their cars on the slick track.

Mistakes don’t just mark the difference between victory and defeat, they can also be the margin between life and death. The roll call of F1 drivers killed in action makes grim reading. The last fatality, in 1994, was the reigning world champion, Brazil’s Ayrton Senna. In the aftermath of that tragedy, safety became paramount, and thanks to sturdy modifications to the cars, injuries are now rare.

For spectators, the specter of death was a ghoulish attraction, and perhaps contributed to F1’s huge global television audience — for decades it has been the world’s third most watched sporting event after the Olympics and the soccer World Cup.

Recent rule changes have encouraged wheel-to-wheel competition, and following the retirement of the sport’s most dominant driver, Michael Schumacher, several exciting new stars have emerged: Spaniard Fernando Alonso is the current world champion, and this year’s rookie sensation, Lewis Hamilton, promises to be F1’s answer to Tiger Woods.

F1 is a barometer of the modern world. The celebrity hangers-on are strictly A-list; a sure indicator of who’s hot and who’s not. Similarly, the locations of the Grands Prix reveal the rise of new economies. In the past, the F1 season was primarily played out in Europe and North America. Lately, the focus has shifted east, with races held in Turkey, Malaysia, Bahrain and China. A Grand Prix in India may be added in 2009.

Ultimately, F1 is about the racing. The start of a Grand Prix is one of the most nerve-wracking moments in all of sport. When the lights go out — the signal to start — 22 cars accelerate to break-neck speed, shuffling for position before the first corner. If they all get round it (race-stopping collisions are common), 90 minutes of racing lie ahead. When the winner finally takes the checkered flag, you know that he has well and truly earned it.