I know there’s teams and they get talked about a lot. How are they broken down (number of racer wise) and how important are teams?

Teams are huge. Each team has 2 drivers. Each driver has an on-track team, and there is also a team back at the team "factory".

I recommend watching these videos to get a sense of how big a team is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uAN0YoiUT0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK2Az1LFtCU

Everything seems super technical to the point of overwhelming (ie: the steering wheel). What’s the best way to start learning basics?

Well it kind is super tehnical. But the basics are pretty easy. If i'd have to describe them id classify them into bigger categories like : Aero(dynamics), Tyres (and tyre management), and the power aspect (DRS, ERS, fuel mixes etc). the F1 games actually really help with that.

I couldn’t get over the amount of screens the pit crew (I assume?) were looking at. Is that just data analyzation? What are they looking at?

Yep, a race weekend may generate up to 500 gigabytes of data. And theres also a race to download said data. To put in in perspective during a race they use 5 GHz wifi transfers between the car and tht pitwall (the lads on the side of the track), which in itself is quite the achivement given that cars go with @ 200 mph there.

Here is a vid that shows what goes on in the engineering station during a race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxEtRa5EIww

Since we’re in the US we don’t see F1 a lot. How can I help foster what seems to be a genuine interest in the sport for him?

I think they main thing is to not force it too much onto him. Maybe show him a race every now and then. Or some cool video. Feedinng him bits of info imo is the best way to foster that interest in the sport.