It Started at 1:30 AM. In India. When Everyone Else Was Asleep.
Most F1 fans watch races in the evening, from a comfortable sofa, with people around them who understand what they’re watching.
I watch races at 1:30 AM. Sometimes 2 AM. Sometimes 4 AM for a European race.
The house is quiet. Everyone is asleep. And I am wide awake heart racing, phone in hand, watching a sport that nobody around me fully understands yet.
My name is Devanshu Rai. I am the founder of f1versus.com. And I am an F1 fan from India which means I experience this sport differently from most people who write about it.
Where It All Started
I did not grow up watching F1. I found it the way most people find things they end up loving by accident, at the wrong time of night, through a YouTube rabbit hole.
The clip that started everything was a Max Verstappen overtake. Raw, aggressive, zero respect for the hierarchy. He wasn’t calculating. He wasn’t cautious. He was just attacking like every corner was his last.
I watched it three times in a row. Then I watched more races. Then I watched entire seasons. And somewhere in those late nights, I stopped being a casual viewer and became the kind of fan who checks race updates before checking anything else in the morning.
Max Verstappen opened the door to F1 for me. His mentality fearless, unapologetic, always on the limit is the same energy I try to bring to this website.
What It Means to Be an F1 Fan in India
Let me be honest with you.
F1 in India is still seen as a sport for rich people. Premium channels. Expensive merchandise. International race travel. It does not always feel designed for someone from a lower middle class background — but that never stopped me from loving it.
I have never missed a race. Not once. Not for work, not for exams, not for early morning family commitments. If the race is on at 2 AM, I am awake at 2 AM. If it is at 4 AM, I am awake at 4 AM. No regrets. Not a single time.
That sacrifice small as it sounds is part of why I built this website. Because if I am going to stay up in the middle of the night for something, I want to go deep. I want the data. I want to settle the debates properly. I want to understand not just who won, but why.
Why F1Versus Exists
F1 is a sport built on rivalry.
Senna vs Prost. Schumacher vs everyone. Hamilton vs Verstappen. Teammates who secretly hate each other. Veterans fighting to hold off the next generation. Young drivers who get one chance and have to take it.
That rivalry the head-to-head, the versus, the human battle at 300 km/h is what makes this sport impossible to look away from.
I built f1versus.com to be the home for that story. Every stat on this website exists to answer one question: when it actually mattered, who came out on top?
Head-to-head comparisons. Career data. Rivalry breakdowns. All of it built by a fan, for fans from a bedroom in India, updated after every race, often at 2 AM.
The Unexpected Thing F1 Gave Me
I did not expect this sport to give me one of my closest friendships.
A few years ago I liked a random F1 post on social media. Someone replied. We started talking about race strategy and driver ratings — the kind of conversation that means nothing to people outside our world but means everything inside it.
That person is now like a younger brother to me. We debate every race weekend. We argue about pit stop calls at midnight. We share the same obsession.
F1 found my people for me. That is part of what makes it more than just a sport.
What You Will Find Here
This is not a news website. There are plenty of those.
This is a data and rivalry platform — built for fans who want to go deeper than the headlines.
- Head-to-head driver comparisons — every current and historical matchup, with real stats
- Career rankings — wins, podiums, points, poles, DNFs the full picture
- Rivalry analysis — not just who won, but who performed when it actually counted
Every number on this site is updated regularly. Every page is written by someone who watched the race the night before — even if that night was technically 2 AM.
A Note to Indian F1 Fans
If you are reading this from India welcome. You are exactly who I built this for.
This sport belongs to us too. We stay up for it. We sacrifice sleep for it. We love it just as deeply as anyone in Europe or the Americas we just do it from a different timezone, with a different perspective, and without nearly enough content made for us.
That is changing. F1Versus is part of that change.
See you at the first cornerIt Started at 1:30 AM. In India. When Everyone Else Was Asleep.
Most F1 fans watch races in the evening, from a comfortable sofa, with people around them who understand what they’re watching.
I watch races at 1:30 AM. Sometimes 2 AM. Sometimes 4 AM for a European race.
The house is quiet. Everyone is asleep. And I am wide awake heart racing, phone in hand, watching a sport that nobody around me fully understands yet.
My name is Devanshu Rai. I am the founder of f1versus.com. And I am an F1 fan from India which means I experience this sport differently from most people who write about it.
Where It All Started
I did not grow up watching F1. I found it the way most people find things they end up loving by accident, at the wrong time of night, through a YouTube rabbit hole.
The clip that started everything was a Max Verstappen overtake. Raw, aggressive, zero respect for the hierarchy. He wasn’t calculating. He wasn’t cautious. He was just attacking like every corner was his last.
I watched it three times in a row. Then I watched more races. Then I watched entire seasons. And somewhere in those late nights, I stopped being a casual viewer and became the kind of fan who checks race updates before checking anything else in the morning.
Max Verstappen opened the door to F1 for me. His mentality fearless, unapologetic, always on the limit is the same energy I try to bring to this website.
What It Means to Be an F1 Fan in India
Let me be honest with you.
F1 in India is still seen as a sport for rich people. Premium channels. Expensive merchandise. International race travel. It does not always feel designed for someone from a lower middle class background but that never stopped me from loving it.
I have never missed a race. Not once. Not for work, not for exams, not for early morning family commitments. If the race is on at 2 AM, I am awake at 2 AM. If it is at 4 AM, I am awake at 4 AM. No regrets. Not a single time.
That sacrifice small as it sounds is part of why I built this website. Because if I am going to stay up in the middle of the night for something, I want to go deep. I want the data. I want to settle the debates properly. I want to understand not just who won, but why.
Why F1Versus Exists
F1 is a sport built on rivalry.
Senna vs Prost. Schumacher vs everyone. Hamilton vs Verstappen. Teammates who secretly hate each other. Veterans fighting to hold off the next generation. Young drivers who get one chance and have to take it.
That rivalry — the head-to-head, the versus, the human battle at 300 km/h is what makes this sport impossible to look away from.
I built f1versus.com to be the home for that story. Every stat on this website exists to answer one question: when it actually mattered, who came out on top?
Head-to-head comparisons. Career data. Rivalry breakdowns. All of it built by a fan, for fans from a bedroom in India, updated after every race, often at 2 AM.
The Unexpected Thing F1 Gave Me
I did not expect this sport to give me one of my closest friendships.
A few years ago I liked a random F1 post on social media. Someone replied. We started talking about race strategy and driver ratings — the kind of conversation that means nothing to people outside our world but means everything inside it.
That person is now like a younger brother to me. We debate every race weekend. We argue about pit stop calls at midnight. We share the same obsession.
F1 found my people for me. That is part of what makes it more than just a sport.
What You Will Find Here
This is not a news website. There are plenty of those.
This is a data and rivalry platform — built for fans who want to go deeper than the headlines.
- Head-to-head driver comparisons — every current and historical matchup, with real stats
- Career rankings — wins, podiums, points, poles, DNFs the full picture
- Rivalry analysis — not just who won, but who performed when it actually counted
Every number on this site is updated regularly. Every page is written by someone who watched the race the night before — even if that night was technically 2 AM.
A Note to Indian F1 Fans
If you are reading this from India welcome. You are exactly who I built this for.
This sport belongs to us too. We stay up for it. We sacrifice sleep for it. We love it just as deeply as anyone in Europe or the Americas — we just do it from a different timezone, with a different perspective, and without nearly enough content made for us.
That is changing. F1Versus is part of that change.
See you at the first corner
The F1Versus Team
About the Author
Devanshu Rai — Founder of F1Versus
I am not a journalist. I am not a professional analyst. I am a fan from Indore, India who got obsessed with a sport most people around him had never watched, and decided to build something around that obsession.
I discovered F1 through a Max Verstappen clip on YouTube. That was it. One video, one overtake, one driver who drove like he had nothing to lose and I was gone. No going back.
Since then I have watched every single race. Not missed one. Not for work, not for exams, not for anything. European races at 1:30 AM. Asian races at whatever time they come. It does not matter. If there is a race, I am watching.
I built f1versus.com because I wanted a place where the data backs up the debate. Where you do not just say “Hamilton is better than Verstappen” you prove it, or you cannot say it. Where the rivalry gets the respect it deserves.
I come from a lower middle class background in India. This sport is often seen here as something for rich people premium channels, expensive merchandise, travel to races abroad. I am proof that the passion does not care about any of that.
F1Versus is my way of making this sport feel like it belongs to all of us..
Let’s see who really comes out on top.
— Devanshu Rai Founder & F1 Obsessive