A Beginner’s Guide To Formula One
If Formula One is new to you, this page should set you up with everything you need to know in anticipation of the new season.
The Season
Qualifying
Race
Point Scoring
Flags
Penalties
The Season
The 2008 seasons starts with the race in Australia on March 16, and ends in Brazil on November 2. The gap between races is usually two weeks (with some exceptions) and every race takes place on a Sunday.
Qualifying
Qualifying takes place on the Saturday, the day before the race and has a competitive layout.
The first session, “Q1”, is twenty minutes long and has all 22 drivers trying to set a lap time. They leave the pits, do a warm-up lap (“out-lap”), complete the next lap in the fastest time possible (“hot lap”), and then warm-down their tyres and brakes and come back into the pits (“in-lap”). When twenty minutes is up, the chequered flag is waved, however if a driver is doing a “hot lap” when the flag is waved, he is permitted to complete that lap. The slowest 6 cars are eliminated, and take positions 17-22 on the grid.
The second session, “Q2”, is fifteen minutes long. Only the top 16 drivers from Q1 take part in this. All the times the drivers set in the first session are deleted, so they have to do it all again. The slowest six drivers from this session are once again eliminated, and take positions 11-16 on the grid.
The third session, “Q3”, is only ten minutes long. Once again, the times from the previous session are removed, and the remaining 10 drivers get to race for grid position. The driver with the fastest time gets “pole position”, the term given to the driver who starts the race at the front of the grid. After this session, the teams are not allowed to change their cars in any way before the race the following day. So all cars in this session must have the necessary fuel to compete in the race the next day. The time between ending this qualifying session and the start of the race is called “parc ferme”, where the cars are not allowed to be adjusted. If they are, the team are penalised by having to move the car to the back of the grid or pit lane. For example, if the team have to replace the engine, the car will start from the back of the grid, regardless of their qualifying time. If anything else needs to be adjusted, the car will start from the pit lane.
Race
Each race has a pre-designated number of laps, which changes from race to race, depending on the length of the circuit. The race begins with a “formation lap”, where the cars stay in their grid positions, and complete one slow lap of the circuit to warm up tyres and brakes. After the formation lap, the cars line up on the grid in their positions. If a driver stalls on the grid, the cars must complete another formation lap and the race is reduced by one lap.
The race starts by five lights lighting up one by one. They all switch off simultaneously, and the race is underway. A race is restricted to two hours, so if the race approaches a length of two hours with numerous laps still remaining, the chequered flag is waved.
Point Scoring
The top eight finishing drivers in each race score points depending on their position.
The winner receives 10 points
Second – 8 points
Third – 6 points
Fourth – 5 points
Fifth – 4 points
Sixth – 3 points
Seventh – 2 points
Eighth – 1 point
At the end of the season, the driver with the most points wins the Drivers Championship. If drivers from the same team finish first and second, that team will receive 18 points. The team with the most points at the end of the season win the Constructors Championship.
If the race is stopped for whatever reason, and 75% of the race has been completed, the “countback rule” is put into effect, where the drivers score the points for the positions they were in two laps before the red flag was shown.
Pit Stops
Each driver will have to make a “pit stop” in a race. Depending on the team strategy, they could bring the driver in for one, two, or three pit stops. To make a stop, the driver has to enter the “pit lane”, a separate piece of track separated from the main track by a wall, where all the teams technicians and mechanics operate. The pit lane has a speed limit of between 50 and 70 km/h, depending on the circuit. The driver pulls into his “pit box”, which is the term given to the team’s area of the pit lane, where they house the cars. Here, fuel can be added, tyres changed, and changes can be made to the front and back wings.
Flags
There are a series of flags in use in a Formula One race which give drivers various information.
Yellow
A yellow flag indicates to the driver that an incident has occurred ahead and drivers should take care. When under yellow flag conditions, a driver must not use full speed, nor must he overtake the driver in front. If there are lots of yellow flags, “double-waved yellows”, it normally means there are marshalls on the track and drivers should take extra caution.
A board bearing the letters “SC” may sometimes be displayed with a yellow flag. This indicates to the drivers that the whole circuit is under yellow flag conditions and the Safety Car is on circuit. The Safety Car is at the front of the field, and leads them round the circuit slowly. The Safety Car is normally deployed after a very heavy crash, or a crash in a dangerous place. If, for example, a tractor has to come out to remove the crashed car, or an ambulance has to come onto circuit, the Safety Car is out. The Safety Car is also used in extremely wet weather. For example, the race in Japan last year started under a safety car as the circuit was so wet. Drivers are not allowed to overtake behind the safety car, unless they are one lap behind, in which case they are allowed to overtake everyone and make their way to the back of the grid. When the Safety Car comes into the pit lane, racing resumes again.
Red
The red flag indicates to drivers a very serious incident has occurred, and the race is being stopped. When this happens, the drivers line up on the grid and wait for the signal for things to get going again. The red flag is also used when the weather is deemed completely unsuitable for racing, where the teams wait for the bad weather to pass.
Any time spent under red flag conditions is added on to the two hour time limit. For example, if the race is stopped for thirty minutes, the overall time limit for the race would be two hours thirty minutes.
Yellow And Red Stripes
A flag with yellow and red stripes indicates to drivers that the track is slippery in a certain area. This could be due to an oil or fuel spill, or even just rain water in one part of the circuit.
Green
The green flag is shown to drivers when an incident has been cleared, indicating they are free to race again.
Blue
The blue flag is shown to drivers are going to be “overlapped” (i.e. overtaken by the leader). The drivers at the back of the grid are often called “backmarkers”. If they find themselves in a position with one of the leaders behind them, they must slow down and allow them to pass. If a driver ignores three blue flags, they are penalised. A blue flag may also be shown to a driver in the pit lane, to warn him that faster cars are approaching from further on down the track. (Though this is often replaced with a blue light)
White
A white flag indicates there is a slow-moving vehicle on track. Such as an ambulance, tow truck, or a retiring car.
Half Black/Half White
The black and white flag, separated by a diagonal line through the middle, is held up at the same time as a car number. The driver of this car must take this as a warning that he has been unsporting on-track for instances such as dangerous or unprofessional driving.
Black
A full black flag orders a driver to return to the pits because he has been disqualified. This is also held up with a car number, so there is no mistake as to who has been disqualified. This is shown to a driver who frequently ignores blue flags, leaves the pit lane on a red light, or extreme dangerous driving.
Black With Orange Disc
A black flag with orange circle on it indicates to the driver that they need to enter the pit lane because something is wrong with their car which is interfering with the race. This could be an oil or fuel leak, or debris coming off the car.
Chequered Flag
The chequered flag indicates the race, qualifying or practice session has finished. During the race, it is shown to the winner first and every other driver behind him as they finish.
Penalties
If a driver is penalised for something, they must go to the pit lane. A driver can be penalised for cutting a corner, dangerous or reckless driving, ignoring blue or black flags, speeding in the pit lane or under yellow flags or overtaking when instructed not to. A driver can pick up various penalties.
Stop/Go Penalty
A stop-go penalty involves the driver coming into the pit lane, driving into his pit box and remaining stationary for ten seconds. The mechanics are not allowed to do any work on the car. If a driver does not observe his penalty within three laps, he is shown the black flag and disqualified.
Drive-Through Penalty
A drive-through penalty means the driver simply enters the pit line, abides by the speed limit and then exits. The driver does not pull into his pit box for any changes to be made. If a driver does not observe his penalty within three laps, he is shown the black flag and disqualified.
Grid Penalty
If a driver is deemed of bad driving, or the team have to work on the car while it is in “parc ferme”, the driver may be deducted five or ten places on his grid position. For example, if a driver qualified in first place, a ten-place grid penalty would mean he starts from eleventh, regardless of his qualifying time. A ten-place grid penalty may also be administered after a race in relation to the next one, as race stewards look at certain incidents after races. An unscheduled change of a gearbox can result in a five spot ban, whereas an unscheduled change of engine could result in a ten spot penalty.
Disqualification
If disqualified, the driver is shown a black flag and at the end of the lap he enters the pits, drives into his garage and gets out of the car.
Last Five Laps
If a driver commits an offence in the last five laps of the race, no penalty is required. Instead, twenty five seconds is added to the drivers time, which may result in the driver dropping a couple of positions.
