How do you get your starting position in the race?
All drivers must participate in at least one of the three practice sessions to quality for the race. There are two 90 minute practice sessions on the Friday and a 60 second minute practice session on the Saturday morning.
All 20 cars take part in Q1 and the slowest
five take positions 16-20 in the race. In
Q2, 15 cars compete and the slowest five
determine positions 11-15, and Q3
features ten cars competing for pole
position, with the fastest lap taking first
place in the race.
How does a race start?
Cars come out of the pits 30 minutes before the race is due to start and take their positions on the grid. Shortly before the race starts theirs a ‘formation lap’ which is used to allow the cars and tyres to get ready for the race. Once all cars have returned to their starting grid position, five red lights appear on the start board at one-second intervals. When these red lights go, the race starts.
Why are the tyres different colours?
There are nine different variations of tyres which
are used in Formula 1 and each has a different
colour depending on their hardness. There are
two tyres for rainy conditions; intermediates
and wet weather and seven types for dry
conditions from hyper-soft to super-hard.
However, only three types of dry options are
available to each team at every Grand Prix and
drivers must use at least two tyres during the race.
What’s new for this season?
• F1 cars now have to include a halo system in the driver cockpit – it’s a titanium structure that’s been designed to protect the driver from flying objects and keep them safer if they crash
• New start time – races will start at ten past the hour and European races will start an hour later to increase viewing across the world.
• Formula 1 teams are now limited to use just three engines over the 21 races of the season, down from the four engines last year.
MARCH 2019 | MANE AUTOMOTIVE, F1 & MOTORSPORT | 13