FORMULA 1 CHAMPIONSHIP

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 (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground if he has not fell to the back of the field). The warm up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, and also allows the pit crews 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 one-by-one. The five lights are then extinguished simultaneously, after a computer generated random time (typically less than 3 seconds) to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by flashing amber lights. If this happens the procedure will restart and a new formation lap will begin and 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 also be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be excessively dangerous.

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 305 km (190 mi) (or 260 km (160 mi) for Monaco). Races are limited to two hours, although only tend to last this long in the case of extreme weather. Drivers may overtake one another for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they finished the race. If a leader comes across a back marker who has completed less laps than him, the back marker is shown a blue flag[48] telling him he is obliged to pull over 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.

Throughout the race, drivers may make pit stops in order to refuel and change tyres. Different teams and drivers will employ different pit stop strategies in order to maximise their car's potential. There are two tyre compounds made available to drivers with different characteristics. Over the course of a race, drivers must use both available tyre compounds. 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 softer of the available tyre compounds are marked with a green stripe on the tyre's sidewall to help spectators to understand the strategies. Under wet conditions drivers may switch to specialised wet weather tyres with additional grooves, and are no longer obliged to use both types of dry tyres. Typically, a driver will make between one and three scheduled stops, although he may have to make further stops to fix damage or if weather conditions change. From the 2010 season, refuelling will be banned to encourage less tactical racing, having only been re-introduced in 1994 following safety fears.

Safety Car
In the event of an incident that risks the safety of competitors or trackside marshals, race officials may chose to deploy the Safety Car. This in effect neutralizes the race, with drivers following the Safety Car around the track in race order and at reduced speeds with overtaking not permitted. The safety car circulates until the danger is cleared when the race will restart with a 'rolling start'. Pit stops are permitted under the Safety Car.

Red Flag
In the event of a major incident or unsafe weather conditions, the race may be red flagged. Depending on the race distance covered at the time of the red flag, this can have several meanings:
- If under 3 laps have been completed, the race is restarted from original grid positions.
- If between 3 laps and 75% of the race distance have been completed, the race may be restarted once it is safe to do so using the race order at the time of the red flag. The two hour time limit still applies and the clock does not stop.
- If more than 75% of the race distance has been completed the race is finished and the race result counted back to the second last completed lap before the red flag.