A Formula One Grand Prix is a sporting event which takes place over three days (usually Friday to Sunday), with a series of practice and qualifying sessions prior to the race on Sunday. Current regulations provide for two free practice sessions on Friday, a morning practice session and an afternoon qualifying session held on Saturday, and the race held on Sunday afternoon or evening, though the structure of the weekend has changed numerous times over the history of the sport. Historically, the
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
held practice on Thursday rather than Friday, and the whole schedule for the
Las Vegas Grand Prix
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is a planned Formula One Grand Prix due to form part of the 2023 Formula One World Championship, with the event taking place in Paradise, Nevada, on a temporary street circuit including the Las Vegas Strip.
History ...
is brought forward by one day.
At most
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
race weekends, other events such as races in other
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA) series, such as
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name return ...
or
3, are held.
Free practice
Since 2006, three free practice sessions (often abbreviated to FP1, FP2, and FP3) are held before the race. The first is held on Friday morning and the second on Friday afternoon, while the third session is on Saturday morning. From , all sessions last for one hour, prior to this the Friday sessions were 90 minutes in length and the Saturday session was one hour long.
Private tests are now heavily restricted, but a
third driver
In motorsport it is common to have one or more test drivers who work with the mechanics to help develop the vehicle by testing new systems on the track.
In specific motorsports Formula One
In Formula One, the term third driver is used to designa ...
(such as a reserve, test, or junior driver) is permitted to take part in the first Friday free practice session in the place of a regular driver.
Second practice session for the
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Abu Dhabi Grands Prix takes place in the evening as these races are run at night.
Qualifying
![Raikkonen (McLaren) qualifying at USGP 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Raikkonen_%28McLaren%29_qualifying_at_USGP_2005.jpg)
A qualifying session is held before each race to determine the order cars will be lined up in at the start of the race, with the fastest qualifier starting at the front and the slowest at the back.
Historical methods
Traditionally before , qualifying was split into two one-hour sessions; the first was held on Friday (Thursday at Monaco) afternoon from 13:00 to 14:00 local time, with the second held on Saturday afternoon at the same time. The fastest time set by each driver from either session counted towards their final
grid position. Each driver was limited to twelve laps per qualifying session.
In 1996, qualifying was amended with the Friday qualifying session abolished in a favour for a single qualifying session held on Saturday afternoon. As previously, each driver was limited to twelve laps with the inclusion of a
107% rule to exclude drivers with slow lap times. This was calculated by using the time of the driver on pole position and adding on 7% to create a cut-off time. This format remained until the conclusion of the
2002 season.
Between and , the qualifying session was run as a one-lap session and took place on Friday and Saturday afternoon with the cars running one at a time.
In 2003, the Friday running order was determined with the leader of the Drivers' Championship heading out first. The Saturday running order was determined by times set in Friday afternoon qualifying with the fastest heading out last and the slowest running first. No refuelling was allowed between the start of Saturday qualifying and the start of the race, so drivers qualified on race fuel. The lap times from the Friday afternoon session did not determine the grid order.
In 2004, the Friday session was moved to Saturday. The running order for the first session was now based on the result of the previous race. At first both sessions were held back-to-back, but the first session was later moved earlier in the day.
At the start of 2005, the sessions were held on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Lap times from both sessions were counted to give the overall aggregate position. From the
2005 European Grand Prix onwards, the Sunday morning session was dropped for a single run on Saturday afternoon having proved unpopular with drivers, teams and broadcasters. The running order was the reverse of the previous race result.
Current format
Since , qualifying takes place on Saturday afternoon in a three-stage "knockout" system. One hour is dedicated to determining the grid order, divided into three periods with short intermissions between them.
Currently, the first qualifying period (Q1) is eighteen minutes long, with all twenty cars competing. At the end of Q1, the five slowest drivers are eliminated from further qualification rounds, and fill positions sixteen to twenty on the grid based on their fastest lap time. Any driver attempting to set a qualifying time when the period ends is permitted to finish their lap, though no new laps may be started once the chequered flag is shown. After a short break, the second period (Q2) (15 minutes long) begins, with fifteen cars on the circuit. At the end of Q2, the five slowest drivers are once again eliminated, filling grid positions eleven to fifteen. Finally, the third qualifying period (Q3) features the ten fastest drivers from the second period. The drivers are issued a new set of soft tyres and have twelve minutes to set a qualifying time, which will determine the top ten positions on the grid. The driver who sets the fastest qualifying time is said to be on
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
, the grid position that offers the best physical position from which to start the race.
Drivers may complete as many laps as they choose within the permitted qualifying session’s time. As of the
2022 season, all drivers are permitted to start the race on the tyre of their choice regardless of their grid position, whereas previously it was required for the drivers starting in the top 10 grid positions to start on the same tyre as the one that they set their fastest lap time within the second qualifying session.
Generally, a driver will leave the pits and drive around the track in order to get to the start/finish line (the ''out-lap''). Having crossed the line, they will attempt to achieve the quickest time around the circuit that they can in one or more laps (the ''flying lap'' or ''hot lap''). This is the lap time which is used in calculating grid position. Finally, the driver will continue back around the track and re-enter the pit lane (the ''in-lap''). However, this is merely strategy, and no teams are obliged by the rules to follow this formula; drivers may elect to set several flying laps before returning to the pits.
For the first two races of the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
season, a modified format was used where drivers were eliminated during the sessions rather than just at the end and only eight drivers progressed to the final session. Qualifying reverted to the previous format from the
third race of the season onwards.
Qualifying requirements
As of , ten teams are entered for the Formula One World Championship, each entering two cars for a total of twenty cars. The regulations place a limit of twenty-six entries for the championship. At some periods in the history of Formula One the number of cars entered for each race has exceeded the number permitted, which historically would vary from race to race according to the circuit used;
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, for example, for many years allowed only twenty cars to compete because of the restricted space available. The slowest cars excess to the circuit limit would not qualify for the race and would be listed as 'Did Not Qualify' (DNQ) in race results.
Historical pre-qualifying
There had been pre-qualifying sessions in the late 1970s, but during the late 1980s and early 1990s the number of cars attempting to enter each race was as high as thirty-nine for some races. Because of the dangers of having so many cars on the track at the same time, pre-qualifying sessions were re-introduced for the teams with the worst record over the previous twelve months, including any new teams. Usually, only the four fastest cars from this session were then allowed into the qualifying session proper, where thirty cars competed for twenty-six places on the starting grid for the race. The slowest cars from the pre-qualifying session were listed in race results as 'Did Not Pre-Qualify' (DNPQ). Pre-qualifying was discontinued after 1992 when many small teams withdrew from the sport.
107% rule
As the number of cars entered in the world championship fell below twenty-six, a situation arose in which any car entered would automatically qualify for the race, no matter how slowly it had been driven. The 107% rule was introduced in to prevent completely uncompetitive cars being entered in the championship. If a car's qualifying time was not within 7% of the pole sitter's time, that car would not qualify for the race, unless at the discretion of the race stewards for a situation such as a rain-affected qualifying session. For example, if the pole-sitter's time was one minute and forty seconds, any car eligible for racing had to set a time within one minute and forty-seven seconds.
The 107% rule was removed since the FIA's rules indicated previously that 24 cars could take the start of a Formula One race, and a minimum of twenty cars had to enter a race. In , the qualifying procedure changed to a single-lap system, rendering the rule inoperable. However, there were concerns about the pace of the new teams in the 2010 season. As the qualifying procedure had been changed since the 2006 season to a three-part knockout system, the rule could now be reintroduced. As such, the 107% rule was reintroduced in the
2011 Formula One season
The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 65th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The original calendar for the 2011 Formula One World Championship consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Gr ...
. Currently, cars eliminated in Q1 have to be within 7% of the fastest Q1 time in order to qualify for the race.
Since the rule was re-introduced, only twice have cars failed to qualify for a Grand Prix—both times involving
Hispania Racing
HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group ...
cars and both times occurring at the
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...
, namely in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
(
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams.
Karting
Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many au ...
and
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.
He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, ...
) and
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
(Karthikeyan and
Pedro de la Rosa
Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
). At their discretion, stewards may permit a driver who fails to set a qualifying time within the desired 107% span; for example, at the
2018 British Grand Prix,
Lance Stroll
Lance Strulovitch (born 29 October 1998), better known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian–Belgian racing driver competing under the Canadian flag in Formula One. He has driven for Aston Martin since , having previously driven for Williams and R ...
and
Brendon Hartley
Brendon Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his t ...
both failed to set times within 107%, but were permitted to race on the grounds of satisfactory lap times in free practice. After eleven drivers failed to set satisfactory Q1 times at the
2016 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Magyar Nagydíj 2016) was a Formula One Auto racing, motor race that was held on 24 July 2016 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary. It was the eleventh round of the 2016 FIA Formu ...
due to inclement weather, the regulations were amended in 2018 so that wet sessions were not subject to the 107% rule.
Grid penalties
Drivers or cars may be issued penalties against their starting positions, commonly for exceeding component limits, or sporting offences in free practice, qualifying, or a previous race. This can lead to the starting grid being significantly different from the qualifying order.
Sprint
During the
2021 Formula One World Championship
The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...
, Formula One trialed a "sprint qualifying" system at three Grands Prix—
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
—in which the grid for the race on Sunday was determined by a 100 km (62 miles) sprint on Saturday. On a race weekend with sprint qualifying, the sessions on Friday instead consist of one practice session and a traditional qualifying session, which is limited to soft tyres and sets the grid of sprint qualifying. Only the winner of the sprint qualifying will be considered to have taken
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
for the main Grand Prix, and they receive a trophy similar to the pole position trophy awarded at other race weekends. The top three finishers in sprint qualifying in 2021 received World Championship points in a 3–2–1 scoring system. Formula One initially planned to extend the use of the format from the three events in 2021 to six events in the
2022 Formula One World Championship
The 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), th ...
.
McLaren Racing
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
CEO
Zak Brown
Zakary Challen Brown (born November 7, 1971) is an American businessman and former professional racing driver, currently residing in England. He is chief executive officer of McLaren Racing with overall responsibility for the business, includi ...
said these plans could be under threat with teams unable to agree on whether the sports budget cap should be increased (and if so by how much) to cover the cost of extra sprints.
On 3 February 2022, it was reported that Formula One had offered a compromise plan to hold three sprints in 2022 (the same number as held in 2021) to try and ensure the format would not be dropped entirely from the 2022 championship. For 2022 sprint qualifying was renamed purely to sprint. The weekend format remained unchanged from 2021 and was run at the
Emilia Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
,
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
, and
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
Grands Prix with points now awarded to the top eight finishers rather than the top three finishers as was the case in 2021. Unlike the 2021 season, the driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying is credited as the official polesitter, unless penalised, with the winner of the sprint continuing to have the right to start the race from the first place grid spot.
The idea of making the sprint an entirely 'standalone' in
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
is being considered, meaning that the outcome of the sprint race would no longer set the grid for the main race.
Race
![Formula one](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Formula_one.jpg)
The race itself is held on Sunday afternoon, with the exception of night races at
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, and
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and a day/night race for the season finale in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
. The last race not to take place on a Sunday was the
1985 South African Grand Prix, which took place on a Saturday.
Race start
Thirty minutes prior to race time, the cars take to the track for any number of warm-up laps (formally known as reconnaissance laps), provided they pass through the pit lane and not the grid, after which they assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified.
At the hour of the race, a green light signifies the beginning of the relatively slow formation lap during which all cars parade around the course doing a final tyre warmup and system checks.
The cars then return to their assigned grid spot for the standing race start. The starting light system, which consists of five pairs of lights mounted above the start/finish line, then lights up each pair at one-second intervals. Once all five pairs are illuminated, after a random length of time (one to nine seconds), the red lights are turned off by the
race director, at which point the race starts. The race length is defined as the smallest number of complete laps that exceeds 305 kilometres (the Monaco Grand Prix is the sole exception with a race length of 78 laps / 260.5 km), though occasionally some races are truncated due to special circumstances. The race can not exceed two hours in length—if this interval is reached, the race will be ended at the end of the next full lap—unless the race is halted by a red flag, in which case the total time including the red flag stoppage must not exceed three hours, and the total time excluding the red flag stoppage may not exceed two hours. Although, at the
2021 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 August 2021 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the twelfth round of the 2021 Formula One World Champi ...
, the three hour countdown was stopped with
force majeure
In contract law, (from Law French: 'overwhelming force', ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such ...
being cited.
Pit stops
Each driver is also required to use two different types of dry compound during a dry race, and so must make a mandatory pit stop. Timing pit stops with reference to other cars is crucial—if they are following another car but are unable to pass, the driver may try to stay on the track as long as possible, or pit immediately, as newer tyres are usually faster. Prior to the
2010 season, drivers used to make
pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...
s for fuel more than once during a race, as the cars on average traveled two kilometres per litre (approximately five miles per gallon). Nowadays this figure is higher, due to changes in engines from
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, and as a result refuelling has been forbidden during a race since . If a driver starts the race using intermediate or wet tyres, they are not mandated to make a pit stop.
Podium ceremony
At the end of the race, the first, second and third-placed drivers take their places on a podium, where they stand as the national anthem of the race winner's home country and that of their team is played. Dignitaries from the country hosting the race then present trophies to the drivers and a constructor's trophy to a representative from the winner's team, and the winning drivers spray champagne and are interviewed. The three drivers then go to a media room for a press conference where they answer questions in English and their native languages.
Points system
Historical methods
Historically, the races were scored on the basis of a five-place tally: i.e. via an 8–6–4–3–2 scoring system, with the holder of the fastest race lap also receiving a bonus point. In 1961, the scoring was revised to give the winner nine points instead of eight, and the single point awarded for fastest lap was given for sixth place for the first time the previous year. In 1991, the points system was again revised to give the victor 10 points, with all other scorers recording the same 6–4–3–2–1 result. In 2003, the FIA further revised the scoring system to apportion points to the first eight classified finishers (a classified finisher must complete 90% of race distance) on a 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis.
At certain points between 1950 and 1990, drivers' points for the season would be tallied based on their best results across the World Championship, which varied from 4 to 11 in a season, and during the late 1960s and 1970s points would be tallied based on their best results from each half of the season, which varied from four to seven. This was done in order to equalise the footings of teams which may not have had the wherewithal to compete in all events. With the advent of the
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Formula One teams and the Formula One Group which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races, and how the television revenues and ...
s, this practice has been discontinued, though it did feature prominently in several world championships through the 1970s and 1980s, primarily in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
when
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Mich ...
had 105 points to
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers fro ...
's 94, but due to only the best 11 results counting towards the World Championship, Senna won, with the final points tally being 90–87.
Current system
Points are awarded to drivers and teams based on where they finish in a race. The winner receives 25 points, the second-place finisher 18 points, with 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 points for positions 3 through 10, respectively. One additional point is awarded to the driver and team with the fastest lap of the race, if they finish in the top 10 positions. In a dead heat, prizes and points are added together and shared equally for all those drivers who tie. The winner of the annual championship is the driver (or team, for the Constructors' Championship) with the most points. If the number of points is the same, priority is given to the driver with more wins. If that is the same it will be decided on the most second places and so on.
Notes
References
External links
* Current Formula One Sporting Regulations
2020 Published by the FIA on 23 November 2020.
* Current Formula One Technical Regulations
2020 Published by the FIA on 19 June 2020.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formula One Racing