Formula1
The Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing (q.v. for pre-1947 history) of the 1920s and 1930s. The "formula" is a set of rules which all participants' cars must meet. Formula One was a new formula agreed after World War II during 1946, with the first non-championship races being held that year. A number of Grand Prix racing organisations had laid out rules for a World Championship before the war, but due to the suspension of racing during the conflict, the World Drivers' Championship was not formalised until 1947. The first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United Kingdom during 1950. A championship for constructors followed during 1958. National championships existed in South Africa and the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Non-championship Formula One events were held for many years but, due to the increasing cost of competition, the last of these occurred during 1983.
The race
The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground provided he has not fallen to the back of the field). The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to get some heat in them to get some much-needed traction, and gives the pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.
Once all the cars have formed on the grid, a light system above the track indicates the start of the race: five red lights are illuminated at intervals of one second; they are all then extinguished simultaneously after an unspecified time (typically less than 3 seconds) to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by raising his arm. If this happens the procedure restarts: a new formation lap begins with the offending car removed from the grid. The race may also be restarted in the event of a serious accident or dangerous conditions, with the original start voided. The race may be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be excessively dangerous, such as extremely heavy rainfall. There is no formation lap when races start behind the Safety Car.
Under normal circumstances the winner of the race is the first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps, which added together should give a distance of approximately 305 km (190 mi) (260 km (160 mi) for Monaco). Race officials may end the race early (putting out a red flag) due to unsafe conditions such as extreme rainfall, and it must finish within two hours, although races are only likely to last this long in the case of extreme weather. Drivers may overtake one another for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they finished the race. If a leader comes across a back marker (slower car) who has completed fewer laps, the back marker is shown a blue flag telling him he is obliged to allow the leader to overtake him. The slower car is said to be 'lapped' and, once the leader finishes the race, is classified as finishing the race 'one lap down'. A driver can be lapped numerous times, by any car in front of him. A driver who fails to finish a race, through mechanical problems, accident, or any other reason is said to have retired from the race and is 'Not Classified' in the results. However, if driver has completed more than 90% of the race distance, he will be classified.
When required, the safety car (above, driven by Bernd Mayländer) will lead the field around the circuit at reduced speed, until race officials deem the race safe to continue. Throughout the race drivers may make pit stops to change tyres and repair damage (until the 2010 season they could also refuel). Different teams and drivers employ different pit stop strategies in order to maximise their car's potential. Two tyre compounds, with different durability and adhesion characteristics, are available to drivers. Over the course of a race, drivers must use both. One compound will have a performance advantage over the other, and choosing when to use which compound is a key tactical decision to make. The prime and option tyres have different colours on their sidewalls; this allows spectators to understand the strategies. Under wet conditions drivers may switch to one of two specialised wet weather tyres with additional grooves (one "intermediate", for mild wet conditions, such as after recent rain, one "full wet", for racing in or immediately after rain). If rain tyres are used, drivers are no longer obliged to use both types of dry tyres. A driver must make at least one stop to use both tyre compounds; up to three stops are typically made, although further stops may be necessary to fix damage or if weather conditions change
Race director
As of 2011 the race director in Formula One is Charlie Whiting. This role involves him generally managing the logistics of each F1 Grand Prix, inspecting cars in Parc fermé before a race, enforcing FIA rules and controlling the lights which start each race. As the head of the race officials he also plays a large role in sorting disputes amongst teams and drivers. Penalties, such as drive-through penalties (and stop-and-go penalties), demotions on a pre-race start grid, race disqualifications, and fines can all be handed out should parties break regulations.
Safety car
In the event of an incident that risks the safety of competitors or trackside race marshals, race officials may choose to deploy the safety car. This in effect suspends the race, with drivers following the safety car around the track at its speed in race order, with overtaking not permitted. The safety car circulates until the danger is cleared; after it comes in the race restarts with a 'rolling start'. Pit stops are permitted under the safety car. Mercedes-Benz supplies Mercedes-AMG models to Formula One to use as the safety cars. Since 2000, the main safety car driver has been German ex-racing driver Bernd Mayländer. On the lap in which the safety car returns back into the pits the leading car takes over the role of the safety car until the first safety car line, which is usually a white line after the pit lane entrance. After crossing this line drivers are allowed to start racing for track position once more.
Red flag
In the event of a major incident or unsafe weather conditions, the race may be red-flagged. Then:
The race
The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground provided he has not fallen to the back of the field). The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to get some heat in them to get some much-needed traction, and gives the pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.
Once all the cars have formed on the grid, a light system above the track indicates the start of the race: five red lights are illuminated at intervals of one second; they are all then extinguished simultaneously after an unspecified time (typically less than 3 seconds) to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by raising his arm. If this happens the procedure restarts: a new formation lap begins with the offending car removed from the grid. The race may also be restarted in the event of a serious accident or dangerous conditions, with the original start voided. The race may be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be excessively dangerous, such as extremely heavy rainfall. There is no formation lap when races start behind the Safety Car.
Under normal circumstances the winner of the race is the first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps, which added together should give a distance of approximately 305 km (190 mi) (260 km (160 mi) for Monaco). Race officials may end the race early (putting out a red flag) due to unsafe conditions such as extreme rainfall, and it must finish within two hours, although races are only likely to last this long in the case of extreme weather. Drivers may overtake one another for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they finished the race. If a leader comes across a back marker (slower car) who has completed fewer laps, the back marker is shown a blue flag telling him he is obliged to allow the leader to overtake him. The slower car is said to be 'lapped' and, once the leader finishes the race, is classified as finishing the race 'one lap down'. A driver can be lapped numerous times, by any car in front of him. A driver who fails to finish a race, through mechanical problems, accident, or any other reason is said to have retired from the race and is 'Not Classified' in the results. However, if driver has completed more than 90% of the race distance, he will be classified.
When required, the safety car (above, driven by Bernd Mayländer) will lead the field around the circuit at reduced speed, until race officials deem the race safe to continue. Throughout the race drivers may make pit stops to change tyres and repair damage (until the 2010 season they could also refuel). Different teams and drivers employ different pit stop strategies in order to maximise their car's potential. Two tyre compounds, with different durability and adhesion characteristics, are available to drivers. Over the course of a race, drivers must use both. One compound will have a performance advantage over the other, and choosing when to use which compound is a key tactical decision to make. The prime and option tyres have different colours on their sidewalls; this allows spectators to understand the strategies. Under wet conditions drivers may switch to one of two specialised wet weather tyres with additional grooves (one "intermediate", for mild wet conditions, such as after recent rain, one "full wet", for racing in or immediately after rain). If rain tyres are used, drivers are no longer obliged to use both types of dry tyres. A driver must make at least one stop to use both tyre compounds; up to three stops are typically made, although further stops may be necessary to fix damage or if weather conditions change
Race director
As of 2011 the race director in Formula One is Charlie Whiting. This role involves him generally managing the logistics of each F1 Grand Prix, inspecting cars in Parc fermé before a race, enforcing FIA rules and controlling the lights which start each race. As the head of the race officials he also plays a large role in sorting disputes amongst teams and drivers. Penalties, such as drive-through penalties (and stop-and-go penalties), demotions on a pre-race start grid, race disqualifications, and fines can all be handed out should parties break regulations.
Safety car
In the event of an incident that risks the safety of competitors or trackside race marshals, race officials may choose to deploy the safety car. This in effect suspends the race, with drivers following the safety car around the track at its speed in race order, with overtaking not permitted. The safety car circulates until the danger is cleared; after it comes in the race restarts with a 'rolling start'. Pit stops are permitted under the safety car. Mercedes-Benz supplies Mercedes-AMG models to Formula One to use as the safety cars. Since 2000, the main safety car driver has been German ex-racing driver Bernd Mayländer. On the lap in which the safety car returns back into the pits the leading car takes over the role of the safety car until the first safety car line, which is usually a white line after the pit lane entrance. After crossing this line drivers are allowed to start racing for track position once more.
Red flag
In the event of a major incident or unsafe weather conditions, the race may be red-flagged. Then:
- If under 3 laps have been completed when the red flag is displayed, the race is restarted from original grid positions. All drivers may restart, provided their car is in a fit state to do so.
- If between 3 laps and 75% of the race distance have been completed, the race may be restarted once it is safe to do so, maintaining the race order at the time of the red flag. The two-hour time limit still applies however the clock stops when the race is suspended and restarts when it resumes.
- If more than 75% of the race distance has been completed then the race is (often but not always) terminated and the race result counted back to the second last completed lap before the red flag.
Points systemVarious systems for awarding championship points have been used since 1950. As of 2010, the top ten cars are awarded points, the winner receiving 25 points. The total number of points won at each race are added up, and the driver and constructor with the most points at the end of the season are World Champions. If both a team's cars finish in the points, they both receive Constructors Championship points. Nevertheless, the Drivers and Constructors Championships often have different results.
To receive points, a driver must be classified. Strictly speaking, in order to be classified, a driver need not finish the race, but complete at least 90% of the winner's race distance. Therefore, it is possible for a driver to receive some points even if he retired before the end of the race. In the event that less than 75% of the race laps are completed by the winner, only half of the points listed in the table are awarded to the drivers and constructors for the listed positions. This has happened on only five occasions in the history of the championship, and it has decided the championship winner on one occasion. The last occurrence was at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix when the race was called off after 31 laps due to torrential rain. This was the first time half points were awarded since the 1991 Australian Grand Prix. |
Points awarded for finishing
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