Formula 1: The Basics of the Grid
As someone who, until recently, has never been into any kind of motor sports, Formula 1 is probably not the sport I should have started out with. A lot of the information I have gathered in the past few months has largely been from my brother and the internet. I know there are plenty of F1 reporters, dedicated blogs and podcasts but I wanted to create a literal basics post that anyone who is just getting into the sport can follow along to and not feel so lost. So we will stick to the basics: introductions to the teams and their current drivers, how grid position is determined, how Grand Prix weekends are set up, most used terms/phrases and their meanings, the difference in the types of tires, what sprint races are and their purpose, and a few other common parts of this multibillion dollar sport.
Teams and Current Driver Introductions:
Red Bull Racing:
- Max Verstappen (26): 3x World Champion (‘21, ‘22', ‘23)- 8th season
- Sergio (Checo) Perez: 12th season
Mercedes AMG Petronas:
- Sir Lewis Hamilton: 7x World Champion (‘08, ‘14, ‘15, ‘17, ‘18, ‘19, ‘20)- 16th season
- George Russell: 5th season
McClaren:
- Lando Norris: 5th season
- Oscar Piastri: 1st season
Scuderia Ferrari:
- Charles Leclerc: 6th season
- Carlos Sainz: 10th season
Aston Martin Aramarco Cognizant:
- Fernando Alonso: 22nd season
- Lance Stroll: 7th season
BWT Alpine:
- Pierre Gasly: 7th season
- Esteban Ocon: 8th season
Williams Racing:
- Alex Albon: 5th season
- Logan Sargeant: 1st season
Alpha Romeo:
- Valteri Bottas: 11th season
- Zhou Guanyu: 2nd season
MoneyGram Haas:
- Nico Hulkenberg: 14th season
- Kevin Magnussen: 9th season
Scuderia AlphaTauri:
- Yuki Tsunoda: 3rd season
- Daniel Ricciardo: 13th season
Most Commonly used Terms and Phrases:
- Grid: The Grid refers to the formation (positions 1-20) the drivers take at the beginning of a race.
- Paddock: Refers to the area behind the team pits at every Formula 1 circuit that is home to the teams’ technical staff and equipment, catering, media, race officials and other important functions that contribute to the successful running of the race weekend.
- Pits: The area at a circuit that houses the team garages. The pits are accessed by a special section of the circuit called the pit lane where speeds are limited (from pit entry to pit exit), and drivers stop during the race in front of their team’s garage for pit stops to change tires or repair mechanical issues. Senior members of each team sit at special stations with banks of computers on the pit wall – located on the track side of the pit lane closer to the circuit – to monitor their car’s performance during practice, qualifying and the race.
- Pole Position: The first position on the grid for the Grand Prix race. This position is earned by the fastest lap time in qualifying rounds.
- Podium: Term used to describe the first three drivers to finish a Grand Prix.
- Box: Short hand term used by drivers and engineers when a driver needs to come into the pits immediately.
- DRS: Drag Reduction System is an advantage that drivers can use in certain sectors by opening an adjustable flap on the back of their car. This is to help make overtaking easier and can only be used in certain sections of a course and the driver has to be within one second of the car in front of them.
- Retire: Term used to describe a driver who cannot finish a race for a number of reason (mechanical, personal, crash, ect.).
- Safety Car: An official car that is used during a race when there is a danger on the circuit, generally resulting from an accident or extreme weather conditions. The Safety Car runs in front of the leaders to slow the cars down until it is safe to resume racing.
Flags and their Meanings:
- Green: used to indicate that the track is clear, whether this is at the start of a warm-up lap, practice session or qualifying session, or immediately after an incident that necessitated the use of one or more yellow flags
- Blue: Used to let a driver know that they are about to be overtaken or to inform a driver leaving the pits that there is traffic coming on the course.
- White: Used to inform drivers when there are significantly slower drivers ahead.
- Yellow: Used to signal danger on the track in two ways:
1 wave: Drivers are required to reduce their speed, are not allowed to overtake and must be prepared to change direction if necessary, due to a hazard beside or partly on the track. It must be evident that a driver has reduced their speed during the relevant sector/s- drivers can be penalized for going too fast in these sectors.
2 waves: Drivers are required to reduce their speed significantly, are not allowed to overtake and must be prepared to change direction or stop immediately, due to a hazard wholly or partly blocking the track and/or marshals working on or beside the track.
- Red: Waved at the start line – and at each marshal post around the circuit – when officials have decided to stop a practice session, qualifying session or race, with reasons ranging from a serious incident to poor weather conditions-In practice and qualifying, all drivers are required to reduce their speed and proceed slowly back to their respective pit garages, while in the race, all drivers are required to reduce their speed and proceed slowly to the pit lane, line up at the exit and await instructions
-Black: used to disqualify a driver and orders them to return to their pit garage at once. The decision to show this flag rests solely with the stewards.
-Black w/ Orange Disc: Used to inform a driver that their car has mechanical problems which are likely to pose a danger to themselves or others, and means they must stop in the pits as soon as possible. If and when the mechanical problems have been rectified to the satisfaction of the chief examiner, the car may rejoin the race, otherwise it must remain in the pits.
-Black and White: Shown as a warning to a driver that they have been reported for unsportsmanlike behavior. It is accompanied by the driver’s race number.
-Checkered: Waved from above the pit wall – marks the end of any practice session, qualifying session or race, and is waved until all competing cars have reached it.
Tires: Types and Conditions:
- Soft: Designated by the C5 and C4 and colored white- these tires are typically used on low-severity and street circuits where quick warm ups are necessary and tire degradation is kept to a minimum. You will see C4 tires used extensively throughout the race season.
- Medium: Designated by the C2 and C3 and colored yellow- you will see these tires used on the more abrasive and hotter circuits. The C2 is often used on new circuits to get verification of real time race conditions. C3 is the most versatile of the tires and can be used as any of the three compounds.
- Hard: Designated using C0 and the new C1 and colored red- these tires are designed for maximum resistance to heat and extreme environments. These tires can be used for long periods but will cost in peak performance.
- Intermediate Wet: These are designated using their green color. They are designed to be used in wet conditions- like wet circuits with no standing water and circuits with surfaces that are in the process of drying.
- Full Wet: Designated with the blue color- these tires are to be used in heavy rain conditions as they are designed to disperse massive quantities of water as well as offering more grip and giving the driver a lesser chance of hydroplaning.
- Blistering: Is caused when the tire overheats causing the rubber to soften and break off from the body of the tire. This can happen if the wrong compound of tire is being used dependent on the track surface, weather conditions and tire pressure.
- Compounds: Refers to the different types of tires used in F1. Tire supplier Pirelli produces five compounds of slick tires for dry running, which are designated C0 to C5. In general, harder compounds (C0,C1) are more durable whilst offering less grip/speed, while softer compounds (C4, C5) are less durable and offer more grip and faster lap times.
- Degradation: Refers to a thermal process where the tire loses performance either from over or under heating which effects not only performance but grip level as well.
Race Weekend Set-ups:
Race weekends are set up over three days- usually Friday-Sunday.
- Free Practice Rounds: Unless it is a sprint weekend, there are three free practice rounds- two held on Friday and one held on Saturday. Free Practice 1 is usually used as time for the drivers to get the car going and get a feel for the track as well as begin to think about any change that need to be made. Free Practice 2 tends to be used for longer stints of time on the track, test out any adjustments made and start running simulation laps for the qualifying round. Free Practice 3 is more of a warm up as it is held a couple hours prior to the qualifying round.
- Qualifying Rounds: Qualifying is split into three rounds. Round 1 is 18 minutes long. Round 2 is 15 minutes long. Round 3 is 12 minutes long. After each round (except the third), the five slowest drivers are eliminated from the next round. So round 1 will see all 20 drivers competing for 15 spots in round 2. In round 2, those 15 drivers will then compete for 10 spots in round 3. In all off these rounds, drivers are going for the fastest lap time. After round 3, the starting grid is set based on lap times- Pole Positions (or P1) is the fastest time in round 3 and positions after are awarded from fastest to slowest. However, drivers can be penalized during qualifying for breaking rules which could cost them positions in the starting grid.
- Race Day: Race Day will start with a few reconnaissance laps so drivers can get a barring on the track conditions and do a few last minute checks to ensure everything is running smoothly. Before the start of each race, the National Anthem of the country the race is taking place in is played and then drivers get in their cars to perform the formation lap. This is a lap where you will see drivers doing a lap while weaving across the track to warm up their tires before taking their positions on the starting grid- determined in the qualifying round the day prior. Once all cars are in their respective starting points, the count down to the start of the race begins with 5 lights at the beginning of the grid that count down with 1 light going out at a time. When all the lights are out, the race starts. The races last about 2 hours but are done based on distance. The race laps are determined on the least amount of laps it takes to exceed 305 kilometers (Approx. 190 miles). The number of laps is dependent on the tracks and their total distance. The first driver to complete all necessary laps wins the race.
- Points: For Grand Prixs’, points are awarded to the first 10 finishers of the race. The higher the driver places, the more points they receive for them and their team:
1st: 25 pts
2nd: 18 pts
3rd: 15 pts
4th: 12 pts
5th: 10pts
6th: 8pts
7th: 6 pts
8th: 4pts
9th: 2pts
10th: 1 pt
Links:
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.the-beginners-guide-to-the-formula-1-grand-prix-weekend.20OGbgZCWKj9ML79gBzfoX.html
https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/motorsport/f1/tyres
https://f1experiences.com/blog/f1-glossary-a-z-most-commonly-used-terminology
