Formula One Tutorial
Formula One Tutorial
Audience
This tutorial is meant for those who want to know all about Formula One racing.
It is prepared keeping in mind that the reader is unaware about the basics of the
sport. It is a basic guide to help a beginner understand the sport.
Prerequisites
Before proceeding with this tutorial, you are required to have a passion for the
sport and an eagerness to acquire knowledge on the same.
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Formula One
Table of Contents
About the Tutorial ..................................................................................................................................... i
Audience .................................................................................................................................................... i
Prerequisites .............................................................................................................................................. i
Overview .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Objective .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Construction ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Gearbox .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Fuel ........................................................................................................................................................... 7
Tires .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Brakes ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
Refueling................................................................................................................................................. 11
Instruction Flags...................................................................................................................................... 12
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Overview
Formula One, also called F1 in short, is an international auto racing sport. F1 is
the highest level of single-seat, open-wheel and open-cockpit professional motor
racing contest.
Formula One racing is governed and sanctioned by a world body called the FIA -
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile or the International Automobile
Federation. The name ‘Formula’ comes from the set of rules that the participating
cars and drivers must follow.
Objective
The objective of a Formula 1 contest is to determine the winner of a race. The
driver who crosses the finish line first after completing a pre-determined number
of laps is declared the winner.
Know more about F1 racing and its rules, regulations, contests and other details
by reading further.
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Apart from the world championship series, many other non-championship F1 races
were also held, but as the costs of conducting these contests got higher, such
races were discontinued after 1983.
Each F1 team can have maximum of four drivers per season. There is support staff
with every F1 team that plays a vital role in the team’s success.
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A series of Formula One races are conducted over a period of time, usually over a
year called the ‘Formula One World Championship season’. Each race in a season
is called a ‘Grand Prix’ or GP and all the races in a season combined are called
‘Grands Prix’ (plural of Grand Prix).
The term ‘Grand Prix’ is derived from French which means ‘great prize’.
Participating Countries
Drivers from the following countries have participated in Formula One races as of
2015:
1. Argentina 22.Malaysia
2. Australia 23.Mexico
3. Austria 24.Monaco
4. Bahrain 25.Morocco
5. Belgium 26.Netherlands
6. Brazil 27.New Zealand
7. Canada 28.Poland
8. Chile 29.Portugal
9. Colombia 30.Rhodesia
10.Czech Republic 31.Rhodesia and Nyasaland
11.Denmark 32.Russia
12.East Germany 33.South Africa
13.Finland 34.Spain
14.France 35.Sweden
15.Germany 36.Switzerland
16.Hungary 37.Thailand
17.India 38.United Arab Emirates
18.Ireland 39.United Kingdom
19.Italy 40.United States
20.Japan 41.Uruguay
21.Liechtenstein 42.Venezuela
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Constructors from the following countries have participated in Formula One races
as of 2015:
1. Brazil 10.Netherlands
2. Canada 11.New Zealand
3. East Germany 12.Rhodesia
4. France 13.South Africa
5. Germany 14.Spain
6. Hong Kong 15.Switzerland
7. Italy 16.United Kingdom
8. Japan 17.United States
9. Malaysia
The following countries are hosts for Formula One races in 2015:
1. Argentina 17.Monaco
2. Australia 18.Morocco
3. Austria 19.Netherlands
4. Bahrain 20.Portugal
5. Belgium 21.Russia
6. Brazil 22.Singapore
7. Canada 23.South Africa
8. China 24.Republic of Korea
9. France 25.Spain
10.Germany 26.Sweden
11.Hungary 27.Switzerland
12.India 28.Turkey
13.Italy 29.United Arab Emirates
14.Japan 30.United Kingdom
15.Malaysia 31.United States
16.Mexico
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3. FORMULA ONE CAR – DESIGN, SPECS, RULES
A Formula One car is an open-wheel, open-cockpit, single-seat racing car for the
purpose of being used in Formula One competitions. It is equipped with two wings
(front and rear) plus an engine, which is located behind the driver.
The F1 races are conducted on specifically built racing tracks called ‘circuits’.
Sometimes they are conducted on closed public roads as well.
Construction
Every F1 car is composed of two main components - the chassis and the engine.
Chassis: Formula One cars these days are made from carbon fiber and ultra-
lightweight components. The weight must be not less than 702 kg or 1548 lbs,
including the driver and tires, but excluding the fuel.
The dimensions of a Formula One car must be maximum 180 cm (width) x 95cm
(height); there is no specified number for maximum length, but all cars tend to
be of almost the same length.
Engine: According to regulation changes in 2014, all F1 cars must deploy 1.6 liter
turbocharged V6 engines.
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Gearbox
Semi-automatic sequential carbon titanium gearboxes are used by F1 cars
presently, with 8 forward gears and 1 reverse gear, with rear-wheel drive.
Steering Wheel
The steering wheel of an F1 car is equipped to perform many functions like
changing gears, changing brake pressure, calling the radio, fuel adjustment, and
so on.
Fuel
The fuel used by Formula One cars is a tightly controlled mixture of ordinary petrol,
and can only contain commercial gasoline compounds rather than alcohol
compounds.
Tires
Formula One cars have been using smooth thread, slick tires since 2009. The tire
dimensions of an F1 car are:
Brakes
Formula One cars use disc brakes with a rotor and caliper at each tire.
However, some cars, without fully complying with F1 standards have attained
speed of 400 kmph or more. These numbers are mostly same for all F1 cars but
slight variations may exist due to the gears and aerodynamics configuration.
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4. FORMULA ONE – SAFETY GEAR
Safety is high priority in motor sports. Formula One has seen many tragedies in
its early days with many casualties that included drivers and spectators as cars
crashed at high speeds. Engineers researched using latest technology to build
safer cars and gear for drivers. This has certainly reduced the number of incidents
over the last decade. Let’s know about the different safety gears used by drivers
in this chapter.
HANS: HANS stands for Head and Neck Support. The purpose of HANS is to
protect the driver’s vertebrae and collision of head to the steering wheel in case
of an accident. It is built using carbon fiber material and is attached to the seat
belt in the cockpit. It is coupled with elastic straps. HANS was inducted by FIA
after a major collision in 1995, Australian GP.
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5. FORMULA ONE – POPULAR TERMS
This chapter consists of all the popular terminology used in Formula One. It is to
understand the language of the sport better.
107% rule – A driver should not exceed 107 percent of fastest time in qualifying
session; if he fails to do so, then he is not allowed to start the race. He is allowed
to start if he sets a suitable time during the practice session.
Backmarker – The drivers lagging behind are called backmarkers. They are
shown blue flag to give way for leading drivers.
Blistering – Improper selection of tire compound can cause excess heat that can
lead to chunks of rubber breaking off from the tire. This is called blistering.
Cockpit – The seating area of the driver in a F1 car is called the cockpit.
Delta Time – The difference of time between two laps or two cars is referred to
as delta time.
Flat spot – The portion of the tire where it is heavily worn out due to spin or
extreme breaking is called the flat spot.
Formation lap or warm-up lap – Cars are driven for a lap from the grid before
the start of the race and then get back to grid positions. This is known as the
warm-up lap.
Jump start – Sensors are installed at grid positions to monitor the cars that start
before all the red lights go off signaling the start of race. Such start is called jump
start and the driver earns a penalty for it.
Lollipop – The sign board at the pit stop that signals the driver to apply brakes
and stay in first gear before the car is lowered from jacks.
Parc ferme – A restricted area where no team members are allowed and all race
cars are driven here after completion of practice or race. This area is supervised
by race stewards only.
Pit board – A board held at pit wall to inform the driver about delta time,
remaining number of laps, and current position.
Pit wall – It is F1 team area where the manager, engineers, and support staff
keep close watch on their cars using small screens under a shelter.
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Pit – An area of the track separated by a wall. Cars enter team’s pit garage for
change of wheels, refuel the car, and set up other changes.
Pole position – Driver who recorded fastest time during qualifying session is
awarded the first grid position on race day.
Tire warmer – An electronic blanket is wrapped around the tires before cars are
positioned for race that keeps them at optimum temperatures before the start of
the race.
Visor strip – The top edge of helmet needs extra protection and it is provided
with a visor strip made of Zylon that is a high-resistant carbon fiber material.
Constructor – Since 1981, FIA has passed a rule that respective F1 teams have
to build their own engine and chassis of the car. The owner of the engine and
chassis is called the constructor.
Circuit - Formula One circuits are tracks specifically and purposefully built for
conducting races. F1 circuits are of two types – Street Circuit and Road Circuit.
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6. FORMULA ONE – RULES & REGULATIONS
A Formula One race starts with a warm-up lap, called the formation lap and the
pit lanes are opened of this purpose 30 minutes before the actual race begins. Pit
lanes are tracks away from the grid and are parallel to the start/finish line.
During this time, the drivers are free to take any number of warm-up drives,
without actually going on the grid. After the pit lane closes, the drivers must take
their places on the grid in their qualifying order.
Once all the cars have taken their positions on the grid, the race begins with the
starting lights - 10 red lights in 5 pairs of columns.
Each column lights one after the other, at an interval of 1 second from left to right
direction. After all, 5 columns are illuminated, they stay in that way for a few
seconds and then all of them are extinguished at once and the race begins.
If the start is interrupted due to any circumstances, the 5 red lights illuminate
again but are not extinguished, instead orange lights are lit up and the race is
restarted.
The drivers who finish at first, second and third positions at the end of the race
stand on a podium and are awarded trophies. A constructor's trophy is also
presented to the winner's team.
The number of laps in a race is obtained by dividing 305 by the length of a lap,
which differs from track to track.
The duration of the race cannot be more than 2 hours. If the allocated time of 2
hours is exceeded, the race is considered to be finished at the end of the ongoing
lap.
Refueling
Refueling during races was allowed earlier, but from 2010 this has been abolished.
As a result, every car must ensure a loaded tank before the race begins. However,
refueling during races will be permitted again from the 2017 season.
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Racing Flags
Similar to motor sports and other racing competitions, racing flags are used in
Formula One to send out various messages and signals to the drivers like the race
start or finish, lap indication, bad weather indication, etc.
Status Flags
Instruction Flags
Status Flags
There are 5 status flags –
1. Green Flag: It is used to indicate the start of a race or the restart of a race
stopped due to a temporary delay.
4. Red & Yellow Striped Flag: It indicates that the conditions of the track
have been modified by car debris, spilled oil or sand and could cause
problems like loss of control and reduced grip.
5. White Flag: It is displayed at the end of free practice sessions (Friday &
Saturday) on the last corner and pit straight, indicating to the drivers that
other drivers are engaged in practice on pit straight.
Instruction Flags
These flags communicate with only one driver at a time and are of 5 types –
1. Black Flag: It is shown to impose penalty when a driver has broken some
rules and instruct the driver to get back to the pit.
2. Black Flag with Orange Circle: It indicates that a car is being asked to
return to the cockpit due to technical problems like fuel leak, water leak or
oil leak, that might interfere with the proceedings of the race.
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3. Per-bend black/white flag: One diagonal of this flag is black and the
other diagonal is white and is an indication of penalty on the driver due to
lack of sportsmanship behavior.
4. Black flag with white cross: This flag is black with two white diagonal
crosses and is waved when a driver ignores other black flags and instructs
the driver that his car is not scoring anymore.
5. Blue Flag: It indicates to the driver that another faster car is coming
towards his direction and that he should make way for the faster car.
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7. FORMULA ONE – GRAND PRIX FORMAT
A Formula One Grand Prix takes place over a weekend i.e., on 3 days - Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. Different events take place on each of these 3 days. They
are -
Practice Sessions
Every Grand Prix begins with 3 free practice sessions, with 2 of them held on
Friday; each of 90 minutes, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
The last practice session takes place on Saturday.
Drivers other than regular drivers, called third drivers can participate in Friday
practice sessions in place of the regular driver. The third drivers are usually
newcomers, trying to gain experience and exposure at such events.
Qualifying Sessions
The second day, Saturday, begins with the 3rd practice session in the morning,
for a duration of one hour. The qualifying session follows in the afternoon and this
session is used to determine the starting order for the race day (Sunday).
The qualifying session lasts one hour and is divided into 3 knock-out stages - Q1,
Q2, Q3, with small intervals in between.
Q1 lasts 18 minutes and all 20 cars race on the circuit. Of these the five slowest
cars are eliminated and they occupy the places - 16, 17,18,19,20, on the grid.
Q2 begins after a brief interval with 16 cars and lasts 15 minutes. Again, the five
slowest cars are eliminated and they occupy the places - 11, 12,13,14,15, on the
grid.
Finally, Q3 begins with the 10 remaining cars and is 12 minutes long and fill the
remaining 10 positions on the grid. The fastest driver occupies 'pole position', a
position on the grid that is considered best to begin a game.
Race Day
The main event of a Grand Prix, the race day is held on a Sunday afternoon.
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8. FORMULA ONE RACING – POINTS SYSTEM
The present system of Formula One World Championship points scoring was
adopted in 2010 and has been continuing since.
According to this system, the top 10 drivers at the end of each Grand Prix will
receive points based on the positions they finished and these points will contribute
towards determining both, the World Drivers’ and World Constructors’
Championships at the end of the season.
In order to receive points, a driver must be classified as a finisher. For this, the
driver must have completed 90% of the distance covered by the winner,
regardless of whether he completes the race or not.
If both cars of a team finish in the top 10, they both contribute to the Constructors’
Championship points.
If a driver changes teams in between a season, the points he gained with the
previous team will still be added to his Drivers' points. However, the Constructors'
points go to the respective teams.
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9. FORMULA ONE – CHAMPIONS
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Juan Manuel Fangio, reigned the first decade of F1 racing, having won the world
championship five times in the year 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. This record
stood unbeaten for 47 years till it was beaten by Michael Schumacher. Fangio also
holds the record of reserving the highest winning percentage (46.15) in F1,
winning 24 races out of the 52 races that he entered into.
Niki Lauda, is three times F1 world champion to have won the races in the year
1975, 1977 and 1984. He is the only accomplished driver to have won the
championship for both Ferrari and McLaren.
If the chassis and engine of a car is constructed by the same entity, then
the car’s make is the name of that one constructor. Eg: Toyota, Ferrari, etc,
and the Constructor’s championship is given to that one constructor.
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