Formula 1 is widely considered as the pinnacle of motorsport. If you are new to Formula 1 and you want to start watching it, it may be a bit hard to understand what exactly is going on. So, here’s a guide to everything you need to know to enjoy F1…
A Formula 1 Weekend:
A Formula 1 weekend consists of three free practice sessions, three qualifying sessions and the race. The free practice sessions help the driver get comfortable with the track and the team to fine tune the setup of the car based on the driver’s feedback.
Changing the setup of the car could mean many things. It could mean changing the brake bias of the car, changing the stiffness of the anti-roll bar, changing the ride height, changing the wing angles and other aerodynamic or mechanical properties. These changes decide the balance of the car for the track and help the driver to be more comfortable with the car.
After free practice, the qualifying sessions are held. Qualifying sessions decide the grid positions of the drivers for the race. The first qualifying session is 18 minutes long and all the drivers go out to set the fastest lap time possible. After 18 minutes, the slowest five drivers are eliminated. After a short break, the second qualifying session is held for 15 minutes for the remaining drivers and again the bottom five are eliminated. The third qualifying session lasts 12 minutes and the positions for the top 10 are decided.
Finally on Sunday, the race begins. The top 10 on the grid must start the race with the same tyres they used to set their fastest time in the second qualifying session and every car should take a minimum of one pit-stop and should use at least two different tyre compounds. Each race can have different number of laps depending on the length of the circuit. The race distance should be around 305km and the race usually lasts for 90 minutes if everything goes smoothly.
Tyre Compounds:
There are totally five slick tyre compounds (C1 – C5) and two wet tyre compounds (intermediate and wet). Slick tyres are used in dry conditions and wet tyres are used when the track is wet.
C1 is the hardest slick tyre compound while C5 is the softest. While there are five compounds in total, only three compounds are brought to each race. Pirelli (the tyre supplier for F1) decides which three compounds are suitable for each track based on the track conditions and temperature. For easier understanding to the viewer, these compounds are called Soft, Medium, and Hard.
The Soft tyre is the fastest tyre but, it doesn’t last many laps. The Hard tyre is the slowest tyre but, lasts really long.
Intermediate and Wet tyre compounds have treading which helps in displacing water from the track. Inters are used when the track is slightly wet, and Wet compound is used when the track is extremely wet.
Points System:
In a Formula 1 race, only the drivers who finish in the top 10 are awarded points. The points system is as follows…
P1- 25 points
P2- 18 points
P3- 15 points
P4- 12 points
P5- 10 points
P6- 8 points
P7- 6 points
P8- 4 points
P9- 2 points
P10- 1 point.
Additionally, an extra point is given to the driver with the fastest lap of the race provided that they finish in the top 10.
In addition to this, if you want to know more about what happens behind the scenes, I would recommend watching the Netflix series – Drive To Survive.
Now I would like to conclude with a quote from the iceman himself…
Bwoah.
Kimi Raikkonen
The Chicane 