F1 qualifying, explained

Starting today, lap times will be counted in earnest.

F1’s 2024 season begins in earnest on Friday, with qualifying for the opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Starting at 7pm local time (11am east coast), 20 drivers will take to the track in a three-stage process that will ultimately determine the grid for Saturday night’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Whether you’re new to F1 or want a refresher, here’s everything you need to know about F1 qualifying.

How to use

F1 has experimented with different qualifying formats throughout its history. In the early stages of the sport, qualifying will take place over two days, with drivers allotted a total of two hours divided into their one-hour session on Friday and their second one-hour session on Saturday. I did. Drivers were free to complete 12 laps, and each driver’s best lap time was used to set the grid.

In 1996, F1 switched to a single session format with qualifying held on Saturdays. Drivers are still limited to 12 laps, and the sport has instituted a “107% rule” aimed at weeding out slower cars. Based on this rule, for more information, SB Nation According to the F1 Glossary, any car that fails to set a lap time within 107% of the fastest time will not be allowed to participate in the race without an exemption.

From 2002, F1 introduced a ‘one-shot qualifying’ format and the two-day qualifying process was reinstated. On Friday, the drivers took to the track and the current leaders of the drivers’ championship started at the front. Each driver was responsible for his one lap, which determined the standings for Saturday’s session. The grid was then set on Saturday and each driver was free to do one more lap. The slowest driver in Friday’s session will be the first to take to the grid on Saturday and will step up to be the fastest driver in Friday’s session.

For the 2006 F1 season, the sport moved to a three-stage “knockout” format, which is still used today. Under this system, all 20 drivers take to the track in the first stage, known as ‘Q1’. The driver will have his 18 minutes to record his best lap. There are no lap limits for drivers, only time. After the checkered flag flies, drivers are not allowed to start a new lap, but drivers who were in the middle of a lap when time up are allowed to complete their laps and are counted.

At the end of 18 minutes, the five slowest drivers are eliminated and the remaining 15 advance to the second stage, Q2. The five eliminated drivers will set up the final five spots on the Grand Prix grid, with the slowest driver starting in 20th position continuing through to 16th, and the fastest of the eliminated drivers starting. .

Q2 begins after a short break and follows a similar format to Q1. However, in Q2, the remaining 15 drivers have only 15 minutes at their disposal. Again, his five slowest drivers will be eliminated and his 11th place will be filled from his 15th place on the grid for the feature race.

The fastest 10 competitors advance to the final stage, Q3. After a short break between Q2 and Q3, the remaining 10 drivers will be given 12 minutes of practice time, with finishing in Q3 determining the top 10 starting spots and the fastest driver taking pole position. You will qualify and be given your first grid. And the starting point that is considered the most advantageous.

Sprint race qualifying follows the same three-stage format, only with shorter times. The first session, called “SQ1”, lasts 12 minutes instead of 18 minutes. SQ2 lasts 10 minutes and SQ3 lasts 8 minutes.

how are tires treated

Generally, teams are free to use whatever tires they like during qualifying. Typically, this means teams use the softest tires available, specified by Pirelli, the sport’s exclusive tire supplier, each race weekend.

However, there are some caveats. On most race weekends, teams are allocated just 13 sets of tires: eight softs, three mediums, and two hards. Teams are also permitted to use four sets of “intermediate” tires in wet conditions and three sets of “full wet” tires in heavy rain conditions.

After three practice sessions, drivers must return two sets of tires to Pirelli, so by the time qualifying begins, drivers will only have seven sets of tires from Q1 until the checkered flag flies at the end of the race. It means you don’t have it.

To give drivers who don’t finish in the top 10 a slight advantage, drivers who don’t make it to Q3 get to keep all seven sets of tires for the race, while those who make it to Q3 hand over one more set of tires. become. After qualifying, the tires will be replaced with Pirellis.

Another thing to keep in mind is a system called “alternative tire allocation” that will be introduced from the 2023 season. F1 trialled it last season to see if it could reduce the number of tires brought to the track each race weekend. This method was used at both the Hungarian and Italian GPs last season, with teams having only 11 sets of tires at the start of the weekend. The breakdown was as follows. Hard has been reduced from 3 sets, medium to 4 sets, and soft from 8 to just 4 sets.

Additionally, in qualifying, drivers were forced to use specific compounds for each stage. Drivers had to use hard tires in Q1, but drivers who made it to Q2 were able to switch to medium tires. Only the 10 drivers who advanced to Q3 were able to fit soft tires.

For sprint qualifying, drivers are required to use medium tires in SQ1 and SQ2. Athletes who advance to the final stage can use soft tires. At the beginning of 2023, F1 made it mandatory for drivers to use new soft tires in SQ3, but this rule was changed mid-season to allow drivers to use any set of soft tires, new or used. Became. This change was made when Lando Norris qualified for SQ3 at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix but was unable to compete because he did not have a new set of soft tires at his disposal.

What other rules should I know?

Are there any other rules I need to be aware of during qualifying?

Track limits.

Simply put, ‘track limits’ refer to the white lines along the edges of an F1 track. They define the edges of the circuit and act as the boundaries of the “field of play” so to speak. It also plays an important safety role, limiting how drivers can attack the circuit.

As long as drivers continue to make even slight contact with the white lines, they are in compliance. However, if all four tires cross the white line, it will be considered a violation. Sports Regulations Article 33.3,It will be as follows.

Drivers must make every reasonable effort to use the truck at all times and must not leave the truck without a valid reason.

If no part of the car makes contact, the driver is considered to have veered off course. Also, for the avoidance of doubt, white lines demarcating the edges of a course are considered part of the course, but curbs are not.

If the car leaves the track, the driver can rejoin, but this will only be done if it is safe to do so and will not provide any lasting benefits. At the absolute discretion of the Race Director, drivers may be given the opportunity to return in full any advantage gained by leaving the track.

During qualifying, if a driver is found to have exceeded the track limits and crossed the white line, his or her lap time will be deleted. Why is this important? Consider the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix. Sergio Perez failed to advance to Q3 in Red Bull’s home race. why? Perez had three lap times removed during Q2 for exceeding track limits. As a result, he was unable to record a lap time and was unable to advance to Q3.