Hello everyone, my name is Penny, and I am heavily interested in the community involving sports. Personally, I enjoy motorsports but my favourite is Formula One yet there are so many more that have a large number of contributing factors. Every release I’m going to focus on certain teams and the drivers of the teams or just overall the history of formula one. The f1 world is full of fun and mysteries, so let’s start with the basics!
Firstly, there are different categories within motorsports with the experts in F1, this is the highest single seat racing that can be entered and is extremely limited which is why its difficult to be in and an honour to drive in it. It then goes down to F2 which is seen as a feeder school, F3 and then Formula Academy which is an all-girls league. Most drivers started their journey young through go karting and work their way up in the leagues when they are around 15 or 16.
Position Points
1 25
2 18
3 15
4 12
5 10
6 8
7 6
8 4
9 2
10 1
This year has broken the record for the greatest number of races in a season with 24, these take place across 5 continents. Formula one started in the 1950s with teams that have stayed but also left or been renamed and even created more recently. At the moment there are 10 teams which include Ferrari, McLaren, Redbull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, RB, Haas, Williams, Alpine and Kick Sauber. Each of these teams have 2 drivers and usually one reserve driver who would step in for a race if one of the drivers were in a position where they were unable to race but are also required to participate in 2 testing sessions on the race weekend. Points are given out each weekend to all the people in the top 10 positions (the higher the position the more points received) anything below doesn’t receive any points. These points contribute to the drivers’ standings and the constructor’s championship that is rewarded at the end of the season by the FIA (the international automobile federation).
F1 cars are forever being developed and have changed a lot since the sport was introduced. They have become a lot safer and more sophisticated especially after 2018 when the FIA made the halo a compulsory factor on the car. This is the M shaped piece of titanium that is located over the top of where the drivers head is located, this is due to the fact many drivers unfortunately died or had health complications after severe head injuries. The DRS (drag reduction system) has been introduced; this is located at the back of the car where the wings open like a letterbox. This helps cars to increase in speed due to the aerodynamics changing and wind becoming more available when it opens since drag on the car is reduced, it also helps with overtaking. The maximum speed of a car sits at approximately 233mph which is normally reached at a straight on the circuit since this is when DRS can be enabled.
So how does a weekend in f1 look?
Practically the race weekend starts on a Thursday since this is when drivers get to the tracks to do press and interviews, however, the racing doesn’t start until Friday which is when the drivers get 2 one hour long sessions of practice to speak to their engineers about the cars on the track, they then have one last practice on Saturday which is when the real racing is seen to start with the qualifying sessions. There are 3 qualifying sessions: Q1 lasts for 18 minutes, Q2 lasts for 15 minutes and Q3 lasts for 12 minutes. Each of these phases is a knockout system meaning the slowest five drivers are eliminated after Q1 and Q2, with the remaining 10 drivers competing in Q3. During this time every driver is given a set number of laps to complete, and their aim is to try and set their fastest time, however if they reach Q3 they have one final chance to set their fastest lap. This determines the starting grid for the race. If a driver fails to set a lap time they will automatically start from the back of the grid. The grid then sets the race for Sunday where each driver will start either maintaining their position or hopefully gaining.
Firstly, there are different categories within motorsports with the experts in F1, this is the highest single seat racing that can be entered and is extremely limited which is why its difficult to be in and an honour to drive in it. It then goes down to F2 which is seen as a feeder school, F3 and then Formula Academy which is an all-girls league. Most drivers started their journey young through go karting and work their way up in the leagues when they are around 15 or 16.
Position Points
1 25
2 18
3 15
4 12
5 10
6 8
7 6
8 4
9 2
10 1
This year has broken the record for the greatest number of races in a season with 24, these take place across 5 continents. Formula one started in the 1950s with teams that have stayed but also left or been renamed and even created more recently. At the moment there are 10 teams which include Ferrari, McLaren, Redbull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, RB, Haas, Williams, Alpine and Kick Sauber. Each of these teams have 2 drivers and usually one reserve driver who would step in for a race if one of the drivers were in a position where they were unable to race but are also required to participate in 2 testing sessions on the race weekend. Points are given out each weekend to all the people in the top 10 positions (the higher the position the more points received) anything below doesn’t receive any points. These points contribute to the drivers’ standings and the constructor’s championship that is rewarded at the end of the season by the FIA (the international automobile federation).
F1 cars are forever being developed and have changed a lot since the sport was introduced. They have become a lot safer and more sophisticated especially after 2018 when the FIA made the halo a compulsory factor on the car. This is the M shaped piece of titanium that is located over the top of where the drivers head is located, this is due to the fact many drivers unfortunately died or had health complications after severe head injuries. The DRS (drag reduction system) has been introduced; this is located at the back of the car where the wings open like a letterbox. This helps cars to increase in speed due to the aerodynamics changing and wind becoming more available when it opens since drag on the car is reduced, it also helps with overtaking. The maximum speed of a car sits at approximately 233mph which is normally reached at a straight on the circuit since this is when DRS can be enabled.
So how does a weekend in f1 look?
Practically the race weekend starts on a Thursday since this is when drivers get to the tracks to do press and interviews, however, the racing doesn’t start until Friday which is when the drivers get 2 one hour long sessions of practice to speak to their engineers about the cars on the track, they then have one last practice on Saturday which is when the real racing is seen to start with the qualifying sessions. There are 3 qualifying sessions: Q1 lasts for 18 minutes, Q2 lasts for 15 minutes and Q3 lasts for 12 minutes. Each of these phases is a knockout system meaning the slowest five drivers are eliminated after Q1 and Q2, with the remaining 10 drivers competing in Q3. During this time every driver is given a set number of laps to complete, and their aim is to try and set their fastest time, however if they reach Q3 they have one final chance to set their fastest lap. This determines the starting grid for the race. If a driver fails to set a lap time they will automatically start from the back of the grid. The grid then sets the race for Sunday where each driver will start either maintaining their position or hopefully gaining.
Penny Cowland
16/10/2024
16/10/2024
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