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Who organises Formula 1?

Formula 1 is run by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Since its inception in 1904, it has been governing motor sports worldwide. The FIA is a non-profit organisation that includes 213 national motoring associations from 125 countries across five continents.

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What are the technical regulations?

The technical regulations as outlined by the FIA are as set out in a memorandum created on October 30, 2006. This was subsequently updated on March 5, 2007 and can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

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What is the current Formula 1?

A modern Formula 1 car is a single-seat, open cockpit, open wheel race car with substantial front and rear wings, and engine positioned behind the driver. The regulations governing the cars are unique to the championship. The current Formula One regulations specify that cars must be constructed by the racing teams themselves. There is much more to the formula, however, here are some cursory pieces of information:

Technical
Chassis
A Formula 1 car cannot be wider than 180 cm. although there is no maximum length or height prescribed, there are other indirect rules that limit these dimensions. There are defined sets of regulations for just about every part of the car.

The car must also have only four wheels mounted externally on the bodywork with only the front two steered while the back two have to be driven. The minimum distance between the front and the rear wheels is pre-defined limiting the length of the car.

There is also a "safety cell" on the main chassis, which includes the cockpit, a structure designed to reduce impact directly in front of the cockpit, and the fuel tank directly behind the cockpit. The car must contain roll structures behind and ahead of the driver and the driver must be able to enter and exit the cockpit without any external adjustments other than removing the steering wheel.

The on-board electrical and computer systems need to be inspected at the start of the season and may not be changed without prior approval. The electronic starters and launch controls are not allowed.

Engine
Formula 1 engines must be naturally aspirated, four-stroke internal combustion petrol engines with reciprocating circular pistons and a maximum of two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder. They must be V8 engines and have 2.4 litres of displacement as opposed to the 3.0 litre engines until a few years ago.

The rules between 2000 and 2005 stated that Formula 1 engines may be no more than 3 litres engine displacement and have 10 cylinders. In order to curb increasing power levels, the maximum engine displacement has been reduced to 2.4 litres, and the number of cylinders to 8 from 2006.

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How are the cars checked for compliance?

The technical delegate checks cars for compliance.

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Who is the Technical Delegate?

Jo Bauer is the FIA Formula 1 Technical Delegate at Grand Prix races. Bauer's job is to assess all the cars at races to ensure that they are within the regulations and he has a team of FIA and local assistants to help him at each race.

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Who are the Race Stewards?

These are the on-track officials responsible for upholding the rules and regulations as set by the FIA. In short, a steward is an adjudicator on various disputes and punishments at racing events.

The three Stewards at a Formula 1 race are the judges, or the referees, of an Event. They examine the reports submitted by the various officials and, once they have heard the explanations and defence of all the parties concerned, decide on any sanctions. In order to ensure sporting equity, the Stewards vary from one event to another; two of them are nominated by the FIA from amongst holders of the Stewards' super licence. The third Steward is designated by the National Sporting Authority of the country in which the event is taking place. The Stewards appointed by the FIA are of a different nationality from that of the country in which the event is taking place.

Stewards have the authority to impose sanctions as set out in the International Sporting Code and if they find that the behaviour of a competitor or a driver is unfair, they can summon him before the World Motor Sport Council.

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Who is the Race Director?

The Race Director officiates at all the Grands Prix in the Championship. It is normally the Clerk of the Course who waves the traditional chequered flag at the end of the race.

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Who is the Clerk of the Course?

The course clerk is nominated by the National Sporting Authority from among the holders of a FIA Super Licence. He is responsible for coordination of all officials and track marshals at a race. The Clerk of the Course needs to work very closely with the Race Director, to whom he also reports.

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What type of sanctions may be imposed?

According to the International Sporting Code, the sanctions imposed may range from gentle reprimand to disqualification including a life ban. Sanctions also include fines, exclusion from a race or races, suspension for one or more races and even withdrawal of points. For any fault that may have been committed during qualifying or practice (whether of a sporting nature or technical), stewards have the power to cancel all the times the driver may have set. They can also instead direct the driver to start from the back of the grid instead of any other sanctions.

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Are the decisions of the stewards final?

A competitor who may feel unfairly penalised by a steward may appeal the decision in the International Court of Appeal. To be able to do so, he needs to make his intentions known within one hour of being notified of the stewards' decision.

Alternatively, the FIA also has the right to defer a steward's decision to the International Court of Appeal if they believe the steward has been wrong in making his decision.

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What is the International Court of Appeal?

The International Court of Appeal of the FIA is the highest authority for international motor sport disputes. It was established under the FIA Statures and the FIA's international sporting code. In addition to sporting disputes arising from motor sports, the court can also settle non-sporting disputes brought forth by motoring associations affiliated to the FIA.

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Who are Formula 1 constructors?

F1 constructors are the teams that build the chassis and are responsible for the performance of a car through the F1 season. It is not necessarily the engine manufacturer and normally, the name of the chassis constructor precedes that of the engine manufacturer. Since 1983, Formula One had been dominated by specialist race teams like Williams, McLaren and Benetton using engines supplied by large car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Renault and Ford.

But the new millennium heralded a change. Ford created the Jaguar team that saw little success and manufacturer-led teams started entering the sport again. What this means is that most of the major and successful teams in Formula 1 today are those who manufacture their own engines and body using their own R&D.

Any constructor interested in being involved in F1 must submit his entry to the FIA and provide evidence that he is the designer and the constructor of the chassis of the car. They also need to prove that they have enough technical and financial backing to complete a full season.

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Who are Formula 1 drivers?

Formula 1 Drivers are experienced race car drivers who are chosen for their skills behind a driver's wheel. The FIA says: "A Super Licence is awarded on the basis of the driver's past record in junior formulae and of his having a valid contract with a Formula One team which has entered the World Championship."

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How are the drivers allocated race numbers?

The race numbers are attributed before each season to the constructors, not the drivers, with one exception: the reigning World Champion is always allocated No 1, even if he has changed teams since winning the title, and his team-mate is given No 2.

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May a team change its drivers during a season?

Each team with two cars may change the driver of its first car once in the season. For the second car, there is an upper limit of three drivers who are allowed to take turns driving without any other restriction in a season. This excludes cases of exceptional circumstances, which are considered separately. Notification of a change of driver must be made before the end of the scrutineering and the sporting checks (the Thursday preceding the event, at 16:00).

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How do the drivers qualify for a race?

The one-hour qualifying session on Saturday is split into three distinct parts, each with multiple drivers on track simultaneously, and each with the drivers running as many laps as they want:

Q1: All 22 cars may run laps at any time during the first 15 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill the bottom six grid places.
Q2: After a seven-minute break, the times will be reset and the 16 remaining cars then will then run in a second 15-minute session. Once again, there is no limit on the number of laps they complete in this time. At the end of the second 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill places 11 to 16 on the grid.
Q3: After a further eight-minute break, the times are reset and the final 15-minute session will feature a shootout between the remaining 10 cars to decide pole position and the starting order for the top 10 grid places. Again, these cars may run as many laps as they wish.

In the first two 15-minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers in the final 15-minute session may only replace the fuel they used during that session before the start of the race.

The driver who set the fastest time will start from the first line in the ‘pole position', and the others will line up on the grid in the order of the times they have achieved. In the event of a tie, the driver who achieved the time first is given priority.

Any driver whose fastest time in qualifying practice exceeds the pole position time by 107% or more is not allowed to start without special permission of the stewards. This is known as the rule of 107% and was enforced when the number of cars attempting to qualify was more than 26. FIA regulations state that a minimum of 20 cars race at a Grand Prix and the current number of 22 allows all drivers to qualify. It is only their starting position that is determined through qualifying.

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What is the starting grid?

The starting grid consists of two cars per row in staggered formation, with an interval of eight metres between each row and the next.

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May the drivers change cars during an event?

During practice, each team may use a maximum of two cars for free practice. All cars need to be identical and have to have undergone scrutiny to ensure this. During a race, though, no team may change the car. A change of engine is not allowed and attracts a penalty for the driver whose car's engine has been changed.

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What is a Grand Prix?

The Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France held at Le Mans in 1906 was the first ever race to be formally called a Grand Prix. At the time, the term was used for races that involved the big cars, namely, the Formula 1 cars. Thereafter, the term was used loosely and associated with just about every race. But the FIA wanted to retain the importance of the term and deemed that it may be used only in accordance with Formula 1 racing.

Since then, the term has been prohibited for use for an event which did not count towards the F1 Championship except for very rare cases with historic importance such as the Grand Prix de Pau, which is currently a Formula 3 event.

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How many Grands Prix are held?

The number of races in a season has varied since the F1 championship was first held in 1950. Back then, there were only seven Grands Prix in the season. The maximum number of races in a season prior to 1996 was 17 (in 1977) after which it was limited to 16 races in a year. In 2007, there will be a total of 17 races with the first being in Australia and the final race of the season in Brazil.

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How are the World Championships decided?

The World Champions are decided when at the end of the season (17 races in 2007), there emerge a team and a driver with maximum points. At the end of every season, two titles are awarded: the Driver's title and Constructor's title.

The drivers' title has been awarded since 1950, whilst the Constructors' title was introduced in 1958. The constructors add together the points scored in every race by each car of their make, in the same way as the drivers accumulate the total number of points scored in each event. Points are awarded to the top eight finishers in every race.

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What is a Formula 1 circuit?

Each circuit must be homologated by the FIA Circuits and Safety Commission following a series of inspections, which are carried out from the start of the work right up until the inauguration of the circuit. The homologation criteria are less strict for circuits hosting events for slower formulae.

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Are Grands Prix run in any weather?

A Formula One Grand Prix takes place in all weather conditions. Nevertheless, the Race Director has the power to stop the event, if this becomes necessary for safety reasons. Apart from grip, the greatest problem in the event of rain is visibility, which is significantly reduced due to the spray thrown up by the cars' tyres. In order to counteract this problem, the cars are equipped with a red light at the rear, which must be switched on if it starts to rain.

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What is the Safety Car?

The Safety Car may only be used when the track is not blocked. The purpose of the Safety Car is to neutralise the race in the event of an accident or an incident, which exposes competitors or officials to immediate physical danger. The Safety Car slows the racing cars so that they do not endanger emergency teams working on or near the track, and are not at risk from slow moving vehicles, such as ambulances.

The Clerk of the Course (only under the direction of the FIA Race Director) is responsible for giving the order to dispatch the Safety Car. When the Safety Car is in use, and as soon as it leaves the pit-lane, a yellow flag together with the "SC" board is shown at all the track marshals' posts. When the safety car is on track, overtaking is prohibited and the cars must reduce their speed and line up behind the Safety Car in the order they were on the track when the signal was shown. All the laps covered behind the Safety Car count as part of the total distance of the race.

A car in the pits during a Safety Car situation may only rejoin the track when the green light is on in the pit lane. It will be on at all times except when the Safety Car and the line of cars following it are about to pass or are passing the pit exit. A car rejoining the track must proceed at reduced speed until it reaches the end of the line of cars behind the Safety Car.

Since 1996 Mercedes-Benz has supplied Formula One safety cars to all rounds of the championship, and the current model is a CLK 63 AMG. It has a slightly modified engine over road-going specification, and has also been modified to reduce its weight and improve braking response - but even with 354 kW (481 bhp) output from its V8 engine, that's still little more than half the power of a current Formula One car (combined with over three times the mass.)

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What are the various flags that are used during a race?

In addition to the red flag, "stopping the race", and the chequered flag, "end of the race", there are other flags, each having a specific meaning.

The blue flag - during the race indicates that a driver is about to be lapped and it orders him to let the other car overtake, on pain of a time penalty for obstruction.

The yellow flag - indicates danger, and overtaking under yellow flag is always prohibited. The yellow flag may have two meanings:
One waved = slow down
Double waved = slow down, prepare to stop if necessary

The green flag - indicates the end of the danger and of the ban on overtaking.


The flag with vertical red and yellow stripes - warns the competitors that the track is slippery (usually oil), and a black flag with an orange disc accompanied by the number of a car warns the driver that his car has a mechanical problem and that he must go to his pit.

A flag with a white triangle and a black triangle - accompanied by the number of a car is a warning for unsporting behaviour.


The black flag - accompanied by the number of a car, summons the driver of such car to immediately return to his pit. This procedure is mostly used to notify a competitor of his exclusion from the race.

A light blue flag - may carry any of three meanings according to its context.
At any time, a stationary light blue flag (or, as is now more common, a blue light) may be shown to a driver at the pitlane exit to warn him that cars are approaching on the track.
During practice, a light blue flag waved on the track notifies a driver that a faster car is about to pass him and he must move aside.
During a race, a light blue flag waved on the track warns the driver that he is about to be lapped by a faster car and must let it pass. A driver may incur penalties if he ignores three successive blue flags.

A white flag - indicates a slow-moving vehicle such as an ambulance, tow truck, or safety car, ahead on the track, and instructs drivers to slow down.

A black and white chequered flag - signals the end of the race, practice session, or qualifying session. During the race it is shown first to the winner and then to the rest of the field as they finish; otherwise it is shown at a predetermined time.

A half black and half white flag - informs a driver that his behavior has been deemed unsporting and if he does not shape up immediately he will be disqualified. A sign with the car number accompanies the flag.

A black flag with an orange circle - (40 cm in diameter) in the center informs a driver that his team's telemetry has sensed a technical problem and he must return to his pit.

A yellow flag with red stripes - warns drivers that the track surface ahead is slippery. This could be as a result of a car spilling oil (or some other engine fluid), or because rain is starting to fall.

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Why is the finish flag chequered?

Even if the chequered flag is waved too early, the race still ends when this signal is given. However, if the flag is waved too late, the classification is the one that is obtained at the end of the scheduled number of laps. Only cars, which have covered 90 per cent of the distance are classified.

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