An F1 Racing for dummies guide might not be needed for everyone but with the popularity of the sport growing everyday, thanks largely in part to the success of the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Strongly recommended), I thought maybe a quick overall summary could help.
The race weekend takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday:
Friday- Free practice sessions
Saturday- Free practice session and Qualifying
Sunday- Race Day
On Fridays the drivers have two 1 hour practice sessions with one in the morning and another in the afternoon. On these P1 and P2 sessions all both drivers for each team are in their cars to get as much info as they can about the car and track to bring back to the team and make any adjustments they allowed to before the race. A third driver for each team (test, reserve or junior driver) can be on track only on Friday’s practice sessions.
On Saturday there is an additional 1 hour practice session (P3). Then there is a 3-stage Qualifying session where the drivers advance to the next stage depending on where the finish in order of best lap times. The drivers are allowed to complete as many laps in each session with their best lap time being counted.
The first qualifying session (Q1) consists of all the drivers on every team and the 5 slowest lap times are elongated and full positions 16-20 depending on their lap times. There is a quick break and then the 15 remaining drivers head back out for Q2 for another session where again the 5 slowest lap times are eliminated and fill positions 11-15.
Going into Q3 the 10 remaining drivers will put on a new set of soft tires and will compete in a 12 minute qualifying session to determine positions 1-10 with the best lap time claiming the pole position. There is strategy to consider here because whatever tires the top 10 drivers complete their fastest lap time in Q2 (or Q1 if eliminated) that is the set of tires they must start the race on come Sunday. The drivers qualifying 11-20 can start on any set of tires they choose.
In 2021 Formula 1 is introducing the Sprint Qualifying system at 3 Grand Prix with the first being this past race at Silverstone and the other 2 haven’t been confirmed yet. The Sprint Qualifying was basically a condensed race of 18 laps with the race order determined by the usual qualifying methods. It gave us a rare chance to see the best drivers in the world really go at it for 18 laps on fresh soft tires and a tank of fuel only meant for 62 miles instead of a full race. Meaning the cars were lighter and the tires grippier. As of now this Sprint method is on a trial basis but I thought it was really fun and gave the fans more competition during the weekend. And then its Race day on Sundays. As of now you can watch all of the Formula one races on ESPN or you
can subscribe to F1TV for an all access version of the races and weekend events. The amount of laps per race vary per track. Its the number of laps to complete 305 kilometers except in the case of the Monaco Grand Prix which is 78 laps for 260.5 kilometers. A Grand Prix can not exceed 2 hours time. If a race reaches 2 hours then lap will be complete at the end of the next full lap. Unless a race is stopped for a Red Flag situation (Bad Crash, track needs repair) then the total time can not exceed 4 hours.
Points are given out at the end of the race for positions 1-10. 1st receiving 25 points, 2nd 18 points, 3rd 15 points down to 10th place which receives 1 point. Drivers win the championship at the end of the season by most overall points accumulated throughout the season. And teams win the Constructors Championship by overall points combined throughout the season from both drivers.
A few details within in the race that the drivers have to abide by are they must use 2 different set of tires for the race. Before the race, race officials decide which 3 sets of tire compounds the drivers can choose from ranging from softest to hardest. The softer the tire means the more grip you will have and therefor less time for them to warm up and more speed for the driver. Softer tires burn out a lot quicker than the harder tires and can only do so many laps so its strategy for the teams to decide which tires to start on and which to end on. Teams also have to decide how many pit stops and how long each tire will last during each race. Another detail in Formula One is each team consists of 2 drivers or teammates. But in F1 your teammate is your biggest rival. You want to beat your teammate as much or more than other drivers because they are the only other driver on the track that their car has all the same specs. So if they are outperforming you by a lot on a consistent basis you are probably not gonna be around very long.
Lastly, going into most Formula 1 seasons you already know who is going to be competing for a championship barring any major circumstances. For example Lewis Haamilton is the reigning 7 time world champion trying to win his record breaking 8th Drivers Championship in a row. He drives for Mercedes and they have won the Constructors Championship (Overall Team points) 7 times now also. With all that in mind everyone knew Team RedBull and all the changes to their car they have made and their young superstar Max Verstappen have clawed their way back up to the top and this was the year it was going to be a battle. Which it has been and its been awesome. But they have 20 teams and those drivers all have to have something to drive for. Coming in 10th place for some teams just for 1 race is the year end goal. They know that their car just isn’t good enough to compete with the top teams who bring in ungodly amounts of money. So those teams have rivals with other teams in their situation. Top teams compete with top teams and bottom teams compete with bottom teams and everything in between.
I highly recommend every check out the Netflix series Formula One: Drive to Survive to get a crash course and enjoy the races on Sunday. As of the popularity of the sport grows look for more races to come to America. We have the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas every year (Oct. 24, 2021) with other cities in the US having one off races here and there. In 2022 there will be another US race with the Miami Grand Prix joining the F1 calendar at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. First time a F1 race was held in Florida since 1959.