Our look at 'All things Formula One' continues today with Part Three.
Political disputes
FISA–FOCA war
The battle for control of Formula One was contested between
the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile, at the time an autonomous
subcommittee of the FIA, and FOCA.
The beginnings of the dispute are numerous, and many of the
underlying reasons may be lost in history. The teams were of the opinion that their rights and
ability to compete against the larger and better funded teams were being
negatively affected by a perceived bias on the part of the controlling
organisation toward the major manufacturers.
In addition, the battle revolved around the commercial
aspects of the sport and the technical
regulations which, in FOCA's opinion, tended to be malleable according to the
nature of the transgressor more than the nature of the transgression.
The war culminated in a FOCA boycott of the 1982 San Marino
Grand Prix months later. In theory, all FOCA teams were supposed to boycott the
Grand Prix as a sign of solidarity and complaint at the handling of the
regulations and financial compensation . In practice, several of the FOCA teams
backed out of the boycott, citing "sponsor obligations". Notable
among these were the Tyrrell and Toleman teams.
FIA–FOTA dispute
During the 2009 season of Formula One, the sport was gripped
in a governance crisis. The FIA President Max Mosley proposed numerous cost
cutting measures for the following season, including an optional budget cap for
the teams; teams electing to take the budget cap would be granted greater
technical freedom, adjustable front and rear wings and an engine not subject to
a rev limiter. that 'they had no choice' but to form a breakaway championship
series. and Max Mosley agreed he would not stand for re-election to the FIA
presidency in October. Following further disagreements after Max Mosley suggested
he would stand for re-election, FOTA made it clear that breakaway plans were
still being pursued. On 8 July, FOTA issued a press release stating they had
been informed they were not entered for the 2010 season, and an FIA press
release said the FOTA representatives had walked out of the meeting. On 1
August, it was announced FIA and FOTA had signed a new Concorde Agreement,
bringing an end to the crisis and securing the sport's future until 2012.
Outside the World Championship
The terms "Formula One race" and "World
Championship race" are effectively synonymous; since 1984, every Formula
One race has counted towards an official FIA World Championship, and every
World Championship race has been held to Formula One regulations. In the earlier
history of Formula One, many races took place outside the world championship,
and local championships run to Formula One regulations also occurred. These
events often took place on circuits that were not suitable for the World
Championship, and featured local cars and drivers as well as those competing in
the Championship.
Racing and strategy
A Formula One Grand Prix event spans a weekend. It begins
with two free practice sessions on Friday, and one free practice on Saturday.
Additional drivers are allowed to run on
Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to
give up his seat. A qualifying session is held after the last free practice
session. This session determines the starting order for the race on Sunday.
Qualifying
For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions
differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have one or more sessions
in which to set their fastest time, with the grid order determined by each
driver's best single lap, with the fastest on pole position. Grids were
generally limited to 26 cars - if the race had more entries qualification would
also decide which drivers would start the race. During the early 1990s, the
number of entries was so high that the worst-performing teams had to enter a
pre-qualifying session, with the fastest cars allowed through to the main
qualifying session. The qualifying format began to change in the late 1990s,
with the FIA experimenting with limiting the number of laps, determining the
aggregate time over two sessions, and allowing each driver only one qualifying
lap.
The current qualifying system was adopted in the 2006
season. Known as "knock-out" qualifying, it is split into three
periods, known as Q1, Q2 and Q3. In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to
attempt to advance to the next period, with the slowest drivers being
"knocked out" at the end of the period and their grid positions set,
based on their best lap times. Drivers are allowed as many laps as they wish
within each period. After each period, all times are reset, and only a driver's
fastest lap in that period counts. Any
timed lap started before the end of that period may be completed, and will
count toward that driver's placement. The number of cars eliminated in each
period is dependent on the total number of cars entered into the championship.
Currently, with 20 cars, Q1 runs for 18 minutes, and eliminates the slowest
five drivers. During this period, any driver whose best lap time exceeds 107%
of the fastest time in Q1, will not be allowed to start the race without
permission from the stewards. This rule does not affect drivers in Q2 or Q3. In
Q2, the 15 remaining drivers have 15 minutes to set one of the ten fastest
times and proceed to the next period. Finally, Q3 lasts ten minutes and sees
the remaining ten drivers decide the first ten grid positions. Any penalties
that affect grid position are applied at the end of qualifying. Grid penalties
can be applied for driving infractions in the previous or current Grand Prix,
or for changing a gearbox or engine component. If a car fails scrutineering,
the driver will be excluded from qualifying, but will be allowed to start the
race from the back of the grid at the race steward's discretion.
The race
The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble
on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to
as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking . The
warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car,
gives the tyres a chance to warm up to increase traction, and also gives the
pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.
Once all the cars have formed on the grid, a light system
above the track indicates the start of the race: five red lights are
illuminated at intervals of one second; they are all then extinguished
simultaneously after an unspecified time
to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if
a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by raising his arm. If this happens the
procedure restarts: a new formation lap begins with the offending car removed
from the grid. The race may also be restarted in the event of a serious
accident or dangerous conditions, with the original start voided. The race may
be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be
excessively dangerous, such as extremely heavy rainfall. There is no formation
lap when races start behind the Safety Car.
Under normal circumstances the winner of the race is the
first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps,
which added together should give a distance of approximately . Race officials
may end the race early due to unsafe
conditions such as extreme rainfall, and it must finish within two hours, although
races are only likely to last this long in the case of extreme weather or if
the safety car is deployed during the race. Drivers may overtake one another
for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they
finished 90% of the race distance. If a leader comes across a back marker who has completed fewer laps, the back marker
is shown a blue flag telling him he is obliged to allow the leader to overtake
him. The slower car is said to be 'lapped' and, once the leader finishes the
race, is classified as finishing the race 'one lap down'. A driver can be
lapped numerous times, by any car in front of him. A driver who fails to finish
a race, through mechanical problems, accident, or any other reason is said to
have retired from the race and is 'Not Classified' in the results. However, if
the driver has completed more than 90% of the race distance, he will be
classified.
Throughout the race drivers may make pit stops to change
tyres and repair damage . Different teams and drivers employ different pit stop
strategies in order to maximise their car's potential. Two tyre compounds, with
different durability and adhesion characteristics, are available to drivers.
Over the course of a race, drivers must use both. One compound will have a
performance advantage over the other, and choosing when to use which compound
is a key tactical decision to make. The prime and option tyres have different
colours on their sidewalls; this allows spectators to understand the
strategies. Under wet conditions drivers may switch to one of two specialised
wet weather tyres with additional grooves . A driver must make at least one
stop to use both tyre compounds; up to three stops are typically made, although
further stops may be necessary to fix damage or if weather conditions change.
If rain tyres are used, drivers are no longer obliged to use both types of dry
tyres.
Part Four coming tomorrow...
Tipster Street.
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