F1 for beginners | RacingNews365

F1 for dummies

Are you a new Formula One fan, or do you continue to find it difficult to understand the extensive F1 rules (and all the exceptions)? Then read this article! Tip of the house: save the article in your notes, so you can always look something up during a race if needed.

How many F1 teams are there?

There are currently ten teams active within Formula 1. Some of these are car brands that use their F1 team as a marketing tool and/or to conduct research for the development of street cars. Examples include Ferrari and Mercedes. Other teams – such as Red Bull and Haas – are fully committed to Formula 1 to put their companies on the map. Of course, all 10 teams have two main goals: winning and making pennies.

How many F1 drivers are there?

Each team has two drivers participating in races. That makes twenty drivers appearing at the start of a Grand Prix. In addition, each team has one or more test and reserve drivers. They help in further developing the car and are on standby when Max Verstappen has food poisoning, for example.

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What is a safety car for?

Safety car literally means “safety car. The safety car comes into action when it becomes dangerous on the track, for example after a crash or in bad weather. The drivers are then alerted via signs and warning flags and also receive a message on their steering wheel. Everyone must then stay behind the safety car, and no one is allowed to overtake each other. Only when the situation is safe will the safety car leave the track again and the race can resume. Click here to learn more about the F1 safety car.

What is a virtual safety car?

The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) in Formula 1 is a system that is switched on during minor incidents on the track, where it is not necessary to run the physical safety car. During a VSC period, drivers must significantly reduce their speed and maintain certain minimum lap times, which are displayed on their handlebars. No overtaking is allowed during this period. When the track situation is safe again, the VSC is terminated and drivers can resume their race at normal speed.

What are pit stops?

During a Formula One race, a driver is required to make one pit stop. A pit stop is a moment in the race when a driver drives through a separate lane to his team’s garage. This garage is located in the pit lane. The pit lane is always located parallel to the starting grid, the position where the race will start.

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Why do F1 drivers make a pit stop?

Making a pit stop can have several reasons. The main reason is to change tires. More information about the tires of a Formula 1 car readyou can read here. However, it may also be that a car has been damaged, for example due to a collision. Some parts of the car can be replaced or repaired by mechanics. For example, consider the front wing or the steer of an F1 car.

Do F1 drivers have to refuel?

No. Formula One drivers do not have to refuel. This used to be the case. Refueling within Formula One was abolished in 2010 to promote the safety of the sport.

What is a free pit stop in F1?

Sometimes in Formula 1 people talk about a free pit stop. This is a figurative term used to indicate that a driver can make a pit stop without losing too much time. But how? A pit stop – including entering and exiting the pit lane – takes a minimum of twenty seconds under normal circumstances. When there is a (virtual) safety car on the track, all drivers are obliged to drive slower. This makes a driver lose less time on the competition when making a pit stop.

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How many races are there in an F1 season?

In 2023, Max Verstappen and his companions will race at 23 different tracks. In 2024, there will be 24. Each race requires them to cover a distance of 305 kilometers. Only in Monaco is this not the case. This is because the abundance of turns makes the circuit so slow that it is not possible to complete the 305-kilometer distance within the allowed maximum race time of two hours.

How do you keep the cars of two teammates apart?

In basic terms, both cars of a team look the same. However, there are a few factors by which you can tell who is driving which car:

• Whether or not there are yellow markings on top of the car. On the top of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull is a yellow marking, indicating that this is the Mexican’s car. Perez’s teammate Max Verstappen thus drives without yellow markings.
• The driver’s number. Each car has a driver’s number noted on both the front and side.

Do you have good eyes? Then you can also try to look at the helmet of the driver in the car.

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What is downforce, how does slipstream work and what is understeer?

What terms lol. But rest assured, we’ll explain what these mean.

Downforce

Downforce is an English term for downforce. The more downforce there is on an F1 car, the more it is pressed against the asphalt, creating more grip. Think of it as the opposite of an airplane. An airplane – courtesy of its wings – takes off at high speed. So an F1 car – thanks in part to the position of its wings – is actually pressed against the surface.

Slipstream

“He’s in the slipstream with Lewis Hamilton!” is a phrase you might hear during an F1 Grand Prix. When a driver is driving shortly behind one of his competitors, he/she can “get into the slipstream,” or, “slipstream. The term slipstream means the following. Suppose Hamilton drives two meters in front of Verstappen, then Hamilton has to work his way through all the wind/air pressure coming from the front of his car. Because Verstappen is driving directly behind Hamilton, he is not affected by that air. In fact, Hamilton’s car “breaks” the air resistance. This makes quite a bit of friction disappear on Verstappen’s car, temporarily increasing its top speed. Hence, when overtaking, an F1 driver often drives as long as possible behind his competitor.

Underdrive and oversteer

Two more common terms: understeer and oversteer. When a car has understeer, it means it has less grip at the front, making it more difficult to steer and therefore “pushed outward. With oversteer, the car is sensitive at the rear, it is then easily a bit “loose” and can easily drift a bit. Read more here.

What is ERS and what is DRS?

Modern Formula One cars have a hybrid engine. Part of the engine is powered by a traditional internal combustion engine running on special gasoline, another part by an electric motor. ERS stands for “Energy Recovery System. When a driver brakes, a lot of energy is released, which is stored in the engine and then used as fuel. Need more info on the Energy Recovery System? Click here!

What is DRS?

DRS, short for Drag Reduction System, is a system designed to improve overtaking in Formula One.

DRS was introduced to the Formula One world in 2011. At the time, there were not many overtaking opportunities in the sport, so FOM (Formula One Management) started looking for a possible solution. The outcome of this was DRS. The Drag Reduction System is a technique in which there is temporarily less downward pressure (downforce) on an F1 car as the rear wing opens. This reduces the car’s pressure against the road surface, resulting in a higher maximum speed. Read about how this works in detail here.

What does an F1 weekend look like?

Traditionally, a Formula One Grand Prix weekend consists of five sessions. Two practice sessions on Friday, in which the teams try to find the best setup for the car and the drivers train for the real thing on Sunday. The third free practice takes place on Saturday, followed by qualifying later in the day. The race is (basically) always run on Sunday. Sometimes there are exceptions, for example due to religious beliefs.

What is an F1 sprint race and how does a sprint weekend work?

During a sprint weekend, the schedule for Verstappen & co looks different. On Friday they drive one free practice session. Later on Friday qualifying takes place in which the starting line-up for the main race takes place. On Saturday, the drivers take part in the so-called sprint shoutout, a shortened version of the “normal” qualifying. The results determine the starting grid for the sprint race which takes place on Saturday afternoon/Saturday evening. A sprint race is a short race in which fewer points are distributed than in a Grand Prix. On Sunday, as in a regular F1 weekend, the main race (Grand Prix) takes place. Read more about the ‘sprint race’ phenomenon and the corresponding points system here.

How does F1 qualifying work? And what is pole position?

Qualifying in Formula 1 determines the starting grid for the Grand Prix. An F1 qualifying consists of three parts: Q1, Q2 and Q3. Q stands for qualifying.

In Q1, which lasts 18 minutes, all drivers compete for a place in the top 15. The five slowest drivers are eliminated and their starting positions, from 16 to 20, are determined. Q2 lasts 15 minutes and here the remaining 15 drivers fight for a place in the top 10. The five slowest drivers are again eliminated and their positions, from 11 to 15, are determined. Q3 is the final part and lasts 12 minutes. Here the top 10 drivers compete for the first starting spot (poleposition) and the rest of the top 10 starting positions. Not quite clear yet? Read more here!

What do the flags mean in F1?

Formula 1 has very many types of flags. All the flags have different meanings. The best known are the green, yellow, red and blue flags. At one:

• Green flag the danger has passed and safe racing can resume;
• Yellow flag drivers should reduce speed and no overtaking is allowed;
• Red flag the session is stopped, due to danger on or around the track;
• Blue flag a driver must pass the driver behind him/her.

Learn more about the above and all the other flags? Click here!

How does the scoring in F1 work?

We start at the beginning. There are not one, but two championships within Formula One. One is the drivers’ championship. The driver who scores the most points together in a season becomes the world champion.

In addition to the drivers’ championship, there is also a constructors’ championship. A constructor is another word for a team that operates in Formula 1. In the constructors’ championship, the points of both drivers of a team are added together. The team that manages to accumulate the most points becomes the constructors’ champion.

All drivers who finish in the top ten receive points. In addition, the driver who clocks the fastest race lap gets one (bonus) point. In the table below you can see exactly how the scoring works. In a sprint race there is an alternative point distribution. Click here to read more about that.

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What are (grid) penalties and track limits in F1?

During a race weekend, F1 drivers must follow the rules. If they fail to do so, they may receive a penalty. This can happen if, for example, they cause a crash, ignore flag signals or drive too fast in the pit lane. Penalties vary depending on the severity of the offense.

There are different penalties, such as time penalties of five or 10 seconds. There is also the drive-through penalty, which requires the driver to drive through the pit lane at a slower speed (usually sixty or eighty kilometers per hour). For more serious infractions, there is the stop-and-go penalty, where the driver must stop for ten seconds at his own garage. In the worst case, a driver can be ejected from the race. Then the driver must immediately return to the pit lane and is not allowed back on the track.

What is a grid penalty?

Another type of penalty is a grid penalty. A grid penalty in Formula 1 is a sanction a driver receives that causes him/her to start further back in the starting grid, called the grid. This usually occurs when rules have been broken, such as changing engine parts too often. The severity of the penalty varies, but always results in a less favorable starting position in the race, making it more challenging for the driver to achieve a good finishing position.

Read more about penalties within Formula 1 here.

Track limits in F1

Track limits in Formula 1 refer to the boundaries of the track that drivers must respect during a session. They are usually marked by white lines or kerbstones. If drivers exceed these limits, such as by driving off track with all four wheels in an attempt to achieve a faster lap time, they can be penalized. These penalties range from deleting their lap time to imposing time penalties. Click here to read more about track limits.

What is a rookie in F1?

A rookie is a term assigned in motorsport to a driver who is in the process of making his debut season. For example, Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri are the rookies of the 2023 F1 season.

Learn more about (complicated) F1 terms? Click here!