F1 Race stoppage

If an accident blocks the track, the race is stopped by red flags shown at every marshalling post. If this occurs more than two laps into the race but before 75 per cent of the allocated distance has been completed, the race is restarted 20 minutes later, with the grid formed by the race order on the lap prior to the red flag. The cars must line up on the grid and cannot make for the pits. No fuel can be added to the cars on the grid. Because the results in this instance are an aggregate of the elapsed times of each competitor from the two parts of the race, it�s quite conceivable that strategies will be unaffected. Any advantage carried by one driver over a rival is still maintained in the aggregate result, even if not on track. But consider, say, the McLaren driver who was leading the Williams rival until pitting just before the stoppage. The slower Jordan and Sauber cars directly ahead of him � which might previously have been out of his way � are now holding him up because the restart has bunched them all together. The Williams rival who has not yet pitted is on a clear track and is brought in earlier than planned in order to take advantage of the McLaren�s delay and get out still ahead. Lots of celebration at Williams, glum faces at McLaren. Stoppages that occur after 75 per cent distance can throw the race wide open for different reasons. In this situation, the race is considered over, and the race order on the lap preceding the stoppage becomes the result. This would be very bad news for any driver who had pitted just prior to the stoppage. Who said life was fair?

Don�t Get Caught Out

What would have been the perfect race strategy under normal circumstances can be ruined by an unforeseen incident or set of circumstances. An intruder taking to the track to demonstrate against alleged unfair dismissal by former employees Mercedes lost McLaren victory in the 2000 German Grand Prix. That couldn�t have been anticipated. The timing of the intruder�s track walk brought the race under a safety car period at exactly the wrong time for McLaren � which coincidentally used Mercedes engines! Ferrari�s Rubens Barrichello was the beneficiary and took his maiden Formula One victory. Conversely, what had been a flawed strategy can be rescued from oblivion by a race incident or sudden adverse weather. Sometimes such situations create a magical split-second opportunity of advantage for the sharper pit lane strategists.

Great overtaking moves still happen

One of the greatest Formula One overtaking moves of all time happened as recently as 2000, at Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix, proving that it isn�t quite an art lost to Formula One. The race was a flat-out battle of wills between the two men fighting for that year�s World Championship: Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. Schumacher�s Ferrari had led most of the race but in the late stages was rapidly being caught by Hakkinen�s McLaren.
Schumacher, with more rear wing, was slower up the long hill that follows on from Eau Rouge, perhaps Formula One�s greatest corner. This made him susceptible to attack under braking for the tight right hander, Les Combes, at the end of the uphill straight.
A few laps from the end, Hakkinen got a run on the Ferrari there and sliced his car to the inside. At around 200 mph Schumacher began to edge Hakkinen over towards the grass. The McLaren�s front wing actually touched the rear of the Ferrari as a horrified Hakkinen was forced to lift off. But now he was angry.
On the next lap, the two cars came to lap the BAR of Ricardo Zonta at the very same place as their earlier encounter. Schumacher opted to pass on the left, and in an instant, Hakkinen dived for the right. A startled Zonta thankfully remained on his line as Hakkinen squeezed past and then proceeded to outbrake Schumacher. It was a great gladiatorial victory for the Finn who afterwards was seen to be having a quiet but stern word with Schumacher.

Best place to overtake

Having said all that, some corners are conducive to overtaking:

• A tightly connected left-right or right-left sequence � where the outside line for the first part of the turn forms the advantageous inside for the second part or vice-versa � allows cars to pass each other. The revised Nurburgring track in Germany includes some of these exciting corners.
• A long straight followed by a slow hairpin � which increases the braking distance, also works and has been used well at the revised Hockenheim track, also in Germany, as well as at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang. The Senna Esses at Interlagos combines both these features and is a classic overtaking spot. Juan Pablo Montoya made himself a hero to millions at this spot in only his third Formula One race, rubbing tyres with Michael Schumacher to take the lead of the 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix.

At such tracks race strategies can be more aggressive as light, two-stopping cars cannot be held up indefinitely by heavier one-stoppers. Formula One purists might try telling you that because overtaking is rare, it�s more special in Formula One than in other forms of the sport where passing and re-passing is frequent but relatively insignificant. Don�t worry if you feel indignant at this � it reflects well on you as a Formula One fan. You might reply along the lines of �That�s a dangerously complacent attitude, and Formula One really needs to address this part of its show if it�s to keep its fans entertained.� A lot of thought is being given to the overtaking issue by both the governing body and teams. Circuit design and lessening the cars� downforce are the favoured areas of investigation. But Formula One tends to spend a lot of time arguing with itself before any changes are made. Don�t hold your breath.

Overtaking and Why It�s Rare

Once past the first corner of the race, overtaking in a Formula One car is an incredibly difficult art. Here�s why.

• Passing on the straight: The power difference between even the fastest car and the slowest is rarely enough make overtaking simply a matter of blasting by on the straight. For that to work, the driver needs to complete the move before the next corner arrives, because unlike racing on an oval track, there is only one real �line� through a corner; anything else is much slower. Therefore the overtaking car would need to get completely in front of the car it�s passing rather than just nosing ahead, in order to then take up track position for the next turn. It�s rare for such a performance differential to exist between cars to make this possible.
• Passing under braking: This is where the moves � such as they are � are usually made. But this is by no means easy. With over 2000kg of pressure pushing the cars into the road, they can decelerate with enormous force �up to 5g. Even the act of lifting your foot from the accelerator pedal creates around 1g of deceleration � around the same as a full emergency stop in your road car � and that�s before the brakes have been applied! Consequently the braking distances for corners are incredibly short. The shorter the braking distances, the less opportunity there is to pass under braking.
• Slipstreaming: The driver of the car behind can benefit from the slipstream effect. This is where the car ahead punches a hole through the air, greatly reducing the air resistance for any car immediately behind it. This effect means that the following driver can use less throttle for the same speed and then simultaneously pull out and floor the throttle to gain a brief surge that might get him ahead. To be successful, the driver has to carry out this move just before the cars enter the braking zone � and on the inside line for the corner. Given that the defending driver is allowed one blocking move between corners, he should invariably have that situation covered, forcing his attacker to take the long way round � the outside.

Blocking the other guy

So if the attacking drivers are allowed to change their lines more than once (as the preceding section explains), why don�t these aggressors simply pass him on the other side, knowing that their prey can�t change his line again? Because if the blocker has timed it right, he will have forced the attacker to lift off the throttle just as the front of his car is almost upon the rear of the defending car. This will have lost the attacker the advantage of momentum he had.
It�s therefore essential for the blocking driver not to make his move too early; otherwise the attacker can simply keep his right foot nailed to the floor and steer around the other side, shouting �Eat my dust!� as he flies by!

Launch control � it wasn�t always so easy

Since the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix drivers have no longer needed to judge the optimum revs, wheelspin, and gear change points to affect the best getaway. Now, a whole host of electronic gizmos are allowed on the cars, including launch control, so all the driver has to do is arm the system as he is lined up on the grid and then press a button as the starting lights change. Software systems then work out the ultimate acceleration.
Features such as this and traction control �which cuts power when the system detects excess wheelspin, thereby making the car easier to control � had been outlawed since 1994, but difficulties in policing the software meant they were reintroduced.

Getting the best start

Any advantage drivers used to gain by jumping the start lights and hoping noone important noticed have now been lost. Electronic tell-tales on the grid position inform the race directors of any driver that has anticipated the lights. A 10 second stop/go penalty or a drive-through penalty (at the discretion of the race directors) is applied to any competitor who does this. In addition, he will look foolish and might have a lot of explaining to do to his team boss at the end of the race.
Formula One cars employ �launch control�, a package of technical gizmos that allows them to achieve their maximum acceleration as soon as the driver presses the button. How quickly a driver reacts to the lights going out is therefore crucial, but every other aspect of getting the car quickly off the line � such as the engine revs and slipping the clutch � is controlled by the software, not the driver. But launch control cannot endow the car with acceleration it doesn�t have; it can only maximise the potential of the car as defined by its power, weight, gearing, and traction. So the one-stopping fuel-heavy car should still be slower away than its two-stopping fuel-light rival.
Those drivers on a heavy fuel load will be extra-anxious to keep any rivals behind them at the start. By preventing a two-stopping driver from passing them, they ruin the lighter car�s strategy by keeping it down to a one-stopping pace but with the extra fuel stop still to make. As the start represents the best opportunity for a light car to pass a heavy one, the driver of the heavy car often needs to be extra ruthless in the dash down to the first corner to keep any rivals from overtaking him.
The sporting rules specifically limit what a defending driver is able to do. The one move rule allows him one blocking move � defined as a move from one side of the track to the other � whereas the driver attacking from behind has no such limitation on his lines. Michael Schumacher has been the most ruthless exponent of this rule over the years; whenever he makes a poor start, he invariably cuts across the bows of any faster accelerating car behind him. Rivals on the receiving end of this treatment, notably David Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve, have complained about it, feeling that it�s both dangerous and goes against the sporting ethic, but his reply is always the same: �The rules say I can.�
At the start, the race officials tend to concentrate on watching what is happening at the front. Further back, out of the limelight, all sorts of transgressions of etiquette and rules take place. You can get away with murder back there on the hectic opening lap.
You might think it has taken vital skills away from the driver. Don�t be shy about saying this out loud � you won�t find many people disagreeing with you, and, as of 2004, launch control is again going to be banned from use. Traction control remains, so at least you shouldn�t see your favourite driver wheelspinning out too early in a race.

Starting the F1 race

All the preparation � the development back at the factory, the testing, the practices, the qualifying, the debriefs � lead up to the moment of the start. A famous Australian driver once said, �when the flag drops, the bullshit stops�. There is no longer a starting flag but the basic premise still holds good.
The start procedure is as follows:

1. Start minus 30 minutes and the cars can be driven from the pit lane to their grid positions.
2. Start minus 15 minutes, the pit lane exit is closed and any car that has not yet left the pit lane will have to begin its race from there after the field has gone by on the first racing lap. This is not a good start to your race!
3. Start minus five minutes: the grid is cleared of all personnel (except the drivers of course!).
4. A green light signals the beginning of the warm up (or formation) lap. Any car slow away can only regain its grid position if it hasn�t been passed by every other car. Otherwise, it must start from the back of the grid. Other than passing slow-moving cars with an obvious problem, or regaining a grid position lost due to a slow start, drivers cannot overtake on the warm up lap.
5. At the end of the warm-up lap the cars take up their grid positions. When the last car is in place, a race official walks on to the back of the grid, signals the race starter with a flag, and leaves the grid once more. The race starter then initiates the starting light procedure.
6. A series of five lights on the start line gantry (a bridge-like framework set high over the track) come on in sequence. When the fifth light comes on, the race can start anytime between 0.2 and three seconds afterwards (the gap is pre-programmed by the starter before the race but kept secret).

And they�re off! The race is on the moment the lights go out.

Understanding F1 Start

Overtaking wheel-to-wheel on the track is a relatively rare thing in Formula One. On the tightest circuits, such Monaco and Hungary, the total number of overtaking moves in a race is often less than half-a-dozen. Therefore the standing-start acceleration burst down to the first corner will usually represent the best opportunity offered a driver all day of making up places. Aside from being one of the most exciting parts of the race it also has serious implications on strategy.
A two-stopping car with only half a tank of fuel weighs around 60kg less than a one-stopper filled to the brim, a difference of 10 per cent in its total weight. This weight difference has a huge effect on the car�s acceleration away from the start. Similarly, a car on soft compound tyres usually has the traction to accelerate better than one on a tougher-wearing harder option. At a track where the quickest fuelling strategy is delicately balanced between two stops and three, the decision might be swung by the desire to be quick away from the lights. Even at those races where it�s clear which of the stopping options is quicker, a team may still reduce the duration of the first stint in order to make the car light at the start and accept the penalty of below optimum timing of the pit stops. Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine beat the faster McLarens at Monaco in 1999 by doing just this.