I G N I T E

What is Formula 1?

Formula One racing is governed and sanctioned by a world body called the FIA − “Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile,” or the International Automobile Federation. The name “Formula” comes from the set of rules that the participating cars and drivers must follow.

The regulations allow for enough leeway within their parameters for the engineers to approach the car’s design with innovation and creativity. As a result, though they may look similar, each car is unique. Combined with the different engine manufacturers, you get 10 cars of varying competitiveness. 

In short, “the Formula” is the same for all, but the interpretation of it is rather different from team to team.

A common example of how different interpretations of the rules can directly correspond to lap time is the Brawn GP double diffuser. 2009 saw a major regulation change, which often reshuffles the order. However, no one was expecting a team on the brink of folding at the end of 2008 to emerge multiple seconds faster in pre-season testing.

The most obvious visual differentiator on the Brawn car was its double-decker diffuser. The new regulations had intended to strip the cars of downforce by reducing the size of the diffuser, but a loophole was left open that allowed for a second diffuser to be built into the crash structure of the car. The innovative Brawn double diffuser, which was found to be compliant with the regulations, is often credited with why Brawn GP won the 2009 Constructors Championship.

On the other hand, innovation can also be a team’s downfall. When the regulations were once again overhauled in 2022, Mercedes raised eyebrows with its “zero sidepod” design. Unfortunately for the Silver Arrows, the zero sidepod concept proved to be the wrong decision, and the team that won 8 constructors championships in a row from 2014-2021 has struggled to regain their once dominant form, after finally abandoning the zero sidepod design in early 2023. 

The minimum total distance of a Grand Prix race must be 300 km or 190 miles. This is the standard distance for all races except for the Monaco GP, which is 260 km or 160 miles.

Every F1 car is composed of two main components − the chassis and the engine.

Chassis − Formula One cars these days are made from carbon fiber and ultra-lightweight components. The weight must be not less than 798 kg or 1,759 lbs, including the driver and tires, but excluding the fuel. The dimensions of a Formula One car are a maximum of 5.63 m in length, 2 m wide, and 95 cm tall. 

Engine − Since the regulation changes of 2014, all F1 cars must deploy 1.6 liter turbocharged V6 engines. For this reason, 2014 marks the start of the “turbo hybrid era” - which Mercedes dominated until the 2022 regulation overhaul.

The Teams and Championships

Each F1 season features two different championships: the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’ Championship. 

Constructors are people or corporate entities which design key parts of F1 cars that have competed or are intended to compete in the FIA World Championship. Since 1981, it has been a requirement that each competitor must have the exclusive rights to the use of certain key parts of their car – in 2018, these parts were the survival cell, the front impact structure, the roll structures and bodywork. 

Essentially, the Constructor must own the IP to the chassis. Think “Constructor” = “team.”

Works Team: the traditional definition of a “works team” is a manufacturer that builds its own car and engine.

Everyone else is a customer team sourcing the engine from a third party.

The 2023 engine suppliers & teams (* indicates a works team):

*Red Bull and Alpha Tauri ran Honda engines in 2021. Red Bull and Honda came to a deal that allowed Red Bull (and Alpha Tauri, its sister team) to use Honda IP in 2022 after Honda announced its departure from F1. Beginning in 2023, Red Bull Powertrains took full responsibility for all manufacturing and servicing of the engines. Red Bull Powertrains currently works alongside Honda on the engines and will continue to do so until the end of the 2025 season when the next generation of engines will be introduced.

Racing Terms

The Racing Line

For each car on each track in each condition there is an ideal path or “racing line.” Getting closest to it gives you the fastest lap time. Missing the ideal spot during any phase of turn by millimeters is a “mistake.”

Oversteer

Generally, oversteer is when a car turns more than the driver intends it to. The visible results of oversteer can include the tail sliding out or a full spin. Oversteer occurs when the rear wheels lose traction before the fronts. Whenever a driver seems to suddenly steer in the wrong direction mid corner, it’s pretty likely it’s an oversteer moment.

Understeer

Understeer is when a car turns less than commanded by the driver, resulting in the car traveling wide. Occurs when the front wheels lose traction before the rears.

Wheelspin

Happens when the engine tries to spin the tires faster than the grip of the circuit permits – they just spin in place. Common on starts because tires are cold so grip is low.

Lock up

When too much force is applied to the brakes, it causes the brake disc to stop or rotate slower than the car's motion. The tire then scrapes along the surface of the track as the car is still carrying momentum - this causes white smoke and ruined tires (i.e., a flat spot).

Graining

Graining occurs when strips of rubber are torn from a tire and then immediately stick back onto the hot surface of that tire. This creates an uneven, irregular surface that makes braking and cornering difficult while reducing grip and traction.

Graining typically occurs when the tire is sliding laterally and is more common with the softer tires. It is often a short-term problem, as the graining goes away once the tire wears and becomes uniform again.

Blistering

This is what happens to a tire, or part of a tire, when it overheats, which leads to the creation of air bubbles inside the tread.

Brake bias

Ratio of brake pressure applied to front and rear brakes. Too much rear brake will tend to cause the car to spin; too much front brake and car will not turn in. Can be adjusted on the steering wheel.

Watch this video for insight into the crazy complicated F1 steering wheels 

Downforce 

There is a limit to how fast a car can travel on the ground without the car taking off. This means that all cars need to generate a downward force sufficient enough to keep them firmly on the ground.

Downforce can be generated from the air flowing around the car and will increase as the speed of the car increases.

Think of downforce as the opposite of lift for an airplane. The wings of an airplane help it to take off into the air. The same wing, if installed inverted on a car, can make the car stay firmly on the ground. As the speed of the car increases, the wings will press the car more firmly into the ground. This force that presses the car to the ground is called downforce.

BONUS: Why is it so hard for F1 cars to pass (“overtake”) each other?

All of the downforce created by the aerodynamic engineering on F1 cars also creates a lot of wind turbulence in the wake of the car. This makes it extremely difficult for F1 cars to follow closely behind each other. The dirty air also chews up the following car’s tires and overheats the brakes.

Track evolution 

Lap times get faster as the weekend goes on, particularly during qualifying. This is partly due to the natural evolution of the track. Unless it rains, there is more rubber going down when everyone’s running a soft tire and braking harder, which naturally makes the track quicker. More laps around the track also cleans the track of dirt and dust, which also provides for more grip and faster speeds.

Put simply, more laps on the track = more rubber on the track = more grip = faster speeds. This is also referred to as the track being “rubbered in.”

Safety Car & Virtual Safety Car (VSC)

The safety car comes onto the track during a race when the Race Director wants to reduce speed for safety reasons - for instance, after an accident when there are marshals on track clearing away debris.

According to the regulations, the safety car enters the circuit “whenever there is an immediate hazard but the conditions do not require the race to be interrupted.”

The safety car's job is to limit the speed of cars on the race track so that workers can come out and pick up any debris or crashed cars.

Note: if conditions are bad enough, the race will instead be “red flagged.” A red flag means a race suspension, and all cars will return to the pit lane. The race is effectively paused.

Red flagged conditions can occur due to weather (e.g., heavy rain), or a crash so bad that marshals cannot safely clear the debris or evacuate the driver with cars still circling the track.

Under a safety car, on the other hand, the drivers continue to drive around the circuit, and each lap completed does continue to count towards the lap total of the race.

During a safety car period, cars slow down and no overtaking is allowed until the drivers receive a green flag, indicating that the race has been resumed. Where a red flag pauses a race, the idea of the safety car is to “neutralize” the race by keeping the cars in the same order.

This means that the only strategic consideration during a safety car period is whether or not to pit.

Teams often use a safety car period to take a chance and make “cheap” pit stops (i.e., pit stops with less time lost, as all the cars are going slowly).

While less time will be lost in the pits due to the reduced on track speeds, cars do still lose track position when pitting under a safety car.

The gamble here, especially with a VSC, is not knowing when the safety car period will end. On the other hand, teams may opt to skip a pit stop and gain track position over a pitting car.

In modern F1, race neutralization via Safety Car is done in two variations.

The traditional SC Period, where the Safety Car actually goes out on track and collects the entire field behind it to form a slow-running queue; and

the Virtual Safety Car, where the drivers are simply required to run sector times that are over a specified Delta, effectively slowing them down.

The VSC is imposed in cases where there is a double waved yellow sector (i.e., a hazard on the track), but the situation is not so bad that the actual safety car needs to come out. 

The VSC lap time is roughly 30 percent slower than what the FIA considers a standard racing lap, which means positions on the track will remain the same, but all cars will be slower. In theory, the gaps between the cars should remain the same, thus preserving a gap that a leader may have built up throughout the race. 

In an actual safety car scenario, all of the cars get physically bunched up following behind the safety car and the gap they had to the car in front and behind is erased. 

Tyre / Tire Compounds (called "tire" below, sorry I'm from the US)

A basic tenant of F1 tires: warmer tires = faster tires. This is why you see cars weaving behind a safety car - the driver is trying to generate enough heat in the tires to keep them in the optimal temperature window. 

There are 5 slick (or dry weather) tire compounds used during an F1 season. These are on a scale of softness (C5) to hardness (C1).

Harder tires are more durable and therefore last longer during a race; however, they also provide less grip, which results in less speed. 

Softer tires are much less durable, but they provide a lot of grip and are much quicker than hard tires.

During an individual race weekend, Pirelli, who manufactures all Formula 1 tires, will choose three of the five tire types to be used during the weekend. The tires used will always be next to each other on the spectrum (e.g., C2-C4)

As of the 2023 season, drivers receive two sets of hard tires, three sets of mediums, and eight sets of softs per race weekend.

It is up to the team to manage the tires throughout the practice and qualifying sessions to ensure that the driver has a good tire selection to use during the actual race.

The important thing is to ensure that drivers have at least two different compounds available to be used during the race.

Wet weather

During a race where it rains, drivers do not have to follow the same tire compound rules that apply in dry conditions.

Wet weather tires have treads on them to help displace the water (as opposed to the smooth, or “slick” dry weather compounds), but this gives drivers less grip and therefore, less speed.

“Full wets” vs. “intermediates”

Intermediates are the most versatile wet weather tire, and may be used on a wet track with no standing water, as well as a drying track surface.

Full wets are most effective for heavy rain, and can displace 85 liters of water per second per tire at 300 kph. 

F1 rules require drivers to race on at least 2 different tire compounds during a race. This means that drivers are required to stop at least once during a race to change their tires. 

Pit Stops

Terminology 

Box:

Box can be used interchangeably with “pit” and is used by drivers and their race engineers to indicate that the driver needs to come in for a pit stop. It is derived from the German word boxenstopp, which means pit stop.

It is usually used twice for maximum efficiency, which is why you will often hear the race engineer telling their driver to “box, box.”

Double stack:

Double stacking means to pit both cars from the same team on the same lap. The leading car will go into the pits and get their tires changed, and immediately afterward, their teammate will repeat the process on that same lap.

The basic logic behind pit stop strategy is newer tires = faster tires. This is because newer tires provide more grip.

However, the obvious problem is that pit stops take time. While the changing of the tires themselves is incredibly fast (F1 pit stops generally take 2-4 seconds – 4 seconds is considered slow, 10 seconds is catastrophic), teams also have to account for time spent in the pit lane. 

Drivers must slow to 60 kph in the pit lane, and will be fined for speeding. Time spent in the pit lane, including the stop itself, averages about 22-23 seconds, although it varies by the circuit. 

The number of times a driver stops will depend on the weather, track conditions, their rivals’ strategies, and potential car damage or punctures.

Undercut vs. Overcut: The strategies

The undercut: An undercut involves making your pit stop earlier than the car in front of you.

This puts you onto fresher tires, which means you will have a pace advantage compared to the car you are chasing.

The idea behind the undercut is to use these fresher tires to overtake the driver ahead of you, who will theoretically be slower due to older tires.

If it all goes to plan, the car which pits earlier will quickly pass the car it was chasing, and then use those fresh tires to build up a big enough gap between themselves and their rival to ensure that they can’t be caught.

The overcut: Instead of pitting before the car you are chasing, the overcut involves staying out while your rival pits, thus gaining track position.

The overcut is powerful on tracks where tire warm up is a challenge.

The idea behind this strategy is to build up as large a gap as possible while the car that pitted first struggles to warm up its new tires. Ideally, the resulting gap will be large enough that the car which stayed out will still come out ahead after its own stop.

This strategy is risky and is used less frequently than the undercut. 

Look for drivers trying the overcut who have started the race on hard tires. Hard tires are more durable and last longer, so the idea will be to gain track position over everyone else when they pit before you as you continue to run on the hard tire. This strategy is all about tire management.

Qualifying

F1 qualifying is broken up into three parts: Q1, Q2, and Q3.

In the first phase of qualifying, called Q1, all 20 drivers have 18 minutes to go out on the track and set their fastest times. At the end of that period, the slowest five drivers are eliminated, and the remaining 15 cars go through to the next phase.

In Q2, the remaining 15 cars have 15 minutes to set their fastest times. Again, at the end of the segment, the slowest five cars are eliminated, and the top 10 go through to the final phase of qualifying, Q3.

In Q3, or the “top 10 shootout,” the top 10 drivers have 12 minutes to set their fastest times, with the driver who sets the fastest time claiming pole position. Pole position starts first, or “P1” on the grid 

The times set in qualifying on Saturday determine the starting positions on the grid for Sunday’s race. 

In certain races in 2023, F1 is trialing a new qualifying format. 

The change, called “Alternative Tyre Allocation,” is meant to reduce the number of tires used during a Grand Prix weekend in a modest attempt at environmental sustainability.

During qualifying, if conditions are dry, the teams will be limited to a specific set of tyres for each of the three rounds. Teams will be required to use the hard compound during Q1, the medium compound during Q2, and the soft compound during Q3. If race officials declare track conditions to be wet, the restrictions will be removed.

Tire Strategy

Specific tire strategies vary by:

The new sets of tires available to the driver for the race

This will be determined by which and how many sets of tires the driver runs through in the practice and qualifying sessions that weekend.

If the race is expected to be a 1-stop or a 2-stop

At circuits where track position is important (e.g., Monaco), drivers will prefer a 1-stop. At circuits where overtaking is possible, drivers may opt for a 2-stop, as this provides additional opportunities to fit faster, fresh tires. 

Expected rates of tire degradation (this also affects whether the race will be a 1-stop or a 2-stop).

Weather 

For example, it always takes longer to heat up the harder compound tires, and cold weather may make heating up even soft tires tricky. If tire warm up will be difficult due to track conditions, this will make the outlap after a pit stop slower than a car running older, warmer tires. In these conditions, the overcut is powerful!

Expectations of a safety car.

Certain tracks (e.g., Baku) see a lot of crashes, and therefore at least one safety car per race is almost expected. Teams may take this into account when planning tire strategies. Of course, the exact timing of a safety car cannot be anticipated.

Example:

At the Jeddah Street Circuit during the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, almost all of the drivers choose to start the race on the medium tire. Pirelli expected that the ideal pit window for the medium tire would be between Lap 21 and 26, at which point it was expected that the preferred strategy would be a 1-stop, with drivers switching to the hard tire and making the hards last to the end of the race.

These "pit windows" are determined by rates of tire degradation - in other words, Pirelli did not expect the medium tire to last more than about 25 laps in Jeddah before experiencing tire failure. At Jeddah, the soft tire had an exceptionally high rate of degradation, and would require too much pace management on high fuel to be a starting tire. On the other hand, the warm-up on the hard tire would make the first few laps difficult for anyone in the pack, which is why most drivers started on the medium tire.

Parc Fermé

The term parc fermé is a French phrase that translates literally as “closed park.” It traditionally refers to a secure area at a circuit where cars are checked over by scrutineers for legality and safety.

The checks (both random and routine) include weight and dimensional measurements, which are carried out using laser technology, as well as equipment checks in which homologation labels are viewed to ensure parts are pre-tested and meet relevant standards.

No work can be done on a car in the parc fermé zone.

In modern F1, parc fermé also refers to certain periods of time during a Grand Prix weekend when the teams are restricted in the work they can do on a car.

Teams are free to modify their cars as they wish (within the rules) right up to the start of qualifying. As soon as the green light goes for Q1, all cars are placed under parc fermé conditions from then until the start of the race.

How do parc fermé conditions work?

The basic principle of parc fermé is that, once in a parc fermé period, the scope for the teams to alter and adjust their car is very, very limited. It’s a cut-off point beyond which they can repair and prepare but not fundamentally alter their race car.

As defined in article 34.6 of the Sporting Regulations: “a Competitor may not modify any part on the car or make changes to the set-up of the suspension whilst the car is being held under parc fermé conditions. In the case of a breach of this Article the relevant driver must start the race from the pit lane.”

The idea is to ensure that the driver qualifies and races in the “same car.”

Before each car leaves the pit lane for qualifying, the teams will provide the FIA Technical Delegate with a set-up sheet. This is the exact set-up they must stick to for the rest of qualifying and the race.

Teams can do certain maintenance work under parc fermé conditions, including replacing parts like-for-like, but they are not allowed to modify any part on the car or change the suspension set-up.

If parc fermé conditions are violated, the car has to start the race from the pit lane.

What are teams ALLOWED to do during parc fermé conditions?

The FIA regulations list more than 20 different specific modifications that can be made to the car while under parc fermé conditions. Anything not on the list requires special written permission.

How does parc fermé affect strategy?

The parc fermé rules force teams to run the same setup in both qualifying and the race. 

“Race trim” refers to a setup more conducive to running a full race, whereas “qualifying trim” refers to a setup dedicated to getting that one perfect lap. For instance, one setup may result in a faster lap, but at the expense of a higher rate of tire degradation. 

Depending on the circuit, teams may choose a setup with more race pace, or a setup focused on qualifying performance. 

The easiest example is Monaco, where overtaking is nearly impossible. Therefore, teams will sacrifice race pace in favor of a setup that favors qualifying speed, because starting position matters much more in Monaco than at a circuit where overtaking is possible.

Car Setup

Race weekends feature 3 free practice sessions (2 on Friday, 1 on Saturday morning), 1 qualifying session (Saturday), and the race itself (Sunday).

The free practice sessions starting on a Friday are typically used to run the different tire compounds and a variety of car setups to allow the teams to collect data. This data will then be combined with simulations and data from previous races to decide the optimal tire strategy and car setup for the race.

Gearboxes and Power Units

Certain parts must be used for a set number of races before being replaced, otherwise the team will be penalized. This penalty will be handed out whether the change required is down to a crash, a breakdown, or for performance.

Gearboxes must be used for at least six races before they can be changed. If a team needs to change one before that, they face a grid penalty. 

The “power unit” is more complicated as it is split into different component parts. Each driver is only permitted a certain number of each element within the power unit during the season. Exceeding a power unit allocation results in grid place penalties, forcing the driver to start the race from further back. 

What elements make up a Formula One Power Unit? 

The FIA distinguishes between six elements in a modern F1 Power Unit (PU).

At the very heart of the PU sits the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). It’s a structural member of the car, connecting the chassis to the gearbox.

The second element is the turbocharger (TC), which increases the density of the air that is consumed by the engine, thus giving the engine more power.

A modern F1 engine is a hybrid engine, with two electric machines recovering and delivering energy.

There’s the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), which harnesses kinetic energy when the car is braking, and the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), which is connected to the turbocharger and harnesses excess energy from the exhaust.

Both motor generator units convert their respective energy sources into electrical energy which can then be used to propel the car. The electric energy is stored in the fifth element of the Power Unit – a big battery pack known as the Energy Store (ES).

This intricate system of different components is controlled by the sixth and final element, the Control Electronics (CE).

Each driver is allowed no more than three engines, three motor generator units-heat (MGU-H), three turbochargers, two energy stores, two control electronics, three motor generator units-kinetic (MGU-K) and eight sets of engine exhaust systems.

If the driver uses more than the assigned number of any one of the elements, they are handed a grid place penalty. This is 10 places for the first request of each part, 5 for the second, and a back of the grid start if more than 15 are amassed.

Fuel

F1 cars can use a maximum of 110 kilograms of fuel per race.

However, they don't always fill the car with that much fuel. This is because the more fuel a car starts with the heavier it is, and the more lap time it costs.

F1 fuel rules also state that “competitors must ensure that a 1.0 litre sample of fuel may be taken at any time during the event.”

Note: The Stewards are notoriously harsh when imposing F1's technical regulations. For example, Sebastian Vettel’s P2 was taken away after the conclusion of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix following a breach of F1’s fuel rules. The FIA were unable to take the required fuel sample from Vettel’s car.

If necessary, drivers may have to adjust their driving if the telemetry indicates that the car will not have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.

Fuel saving such as lifting off the throttle before the braking zone going into corners (“lift and coast”), as well as changing settings in the car to decrease fuel consumption are possible strategies, but these stop the drivers from being able to go flat-out.

High downforce vs. power circuits

Ideally, teams want to design cars that produce as much downforce as possible to boost speed through corners, but the challenge is to do this in such a way that doesn’t result in too much aerodynamic drag.

More drag will slow a car down in a straight line, and consequently more power is needed to overcome this resistance and achieve the best possible acceleration and top speed. This equation is why some cars perform better at certain types of track than others, and why it’s impossible to build a car that’s tailor made for every single grand prix.

What’s a high downforce track in F1?

A high downforce track is a circuit where most of a car’s performance over the course of a lap can be attributed to the aerodynamic downforce it produces rather than the power of its engine. High downforce tracks will have fewer and shorter straights than low downforce tracks, with more of an emphasis on corners.

What’s a power track?

A power track is more or less the opposite of a high downforce track. Most of a car’s performance is tied to the power, acceleration, and top speed made possible by the engine. Long straights and short, slow corners are typical features of power tracks.

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