So. We’re not getting open-wheel cars. We get that. But everyone wants their own F1 teams. Don’t worry, I got this.
Once your company reaches a certain level, either measured by profit margin or name recognition, you get an email from the “Formula 1 Race Association”. I’m short, you pay a small entry fee ($10,000) and are given the chance to “develope” an F1 car.
How do we do this? I’m glad you asked.
The car itself will be completely intangible (except for maybe a stand in stock photo), but it starts off with lower quality, heavy equipment. And you get the option to dump gobs of money into it, incrementally increasing its performance. After so much money has been spent, your car will jump to a higher tier of competition.
The same could be said for drivers. Start off with some young up and Comer, train him well, or trade up.
Anyway. All of the races happen off screen and are calculated using your cars specs as a metric for its finishing place/time. Winning races vastly increase your company’s brand and profit.
Of course you could also impliment an RNG system for racing if your feeling especially dickish.
In short, the concept of F1 is akin to Prestige Mode ala Call of Duty.