Formula 1 Basics: Weekend Framework
Motorsports are booming in popularity all over the world, especially with Netflix’s docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Drivers have outgoing personalities and thriving social media presence. Their likability allows fans to easily attach themselves to a driver. From their engaging TikToks to their aesthetic alternate Instagram accounts showing off their luxurious lifestyles, there’s something for everyone in F1. Formula 1 is unlike many other “traditional” sports and can be wildly confusing for new or aspiring fans. This article will break down the weekend format for most F1 races.
This year, F1 will travel to 20 countries across the globe, spanning five continents. Originally, there were 23 races scheduled for the 2023 season, but heavy flooding led to the Imola, the Italian grand prix, being canceled.
There are currently ten constructors, or teams, in the sport: Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Alpine, McLaren, Haas F1 Team, Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, and Williams. Every team has two drivers that compete against each other and the other teams. Drivers compete for maximum points each weekend in two categories: the Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship.
Race weekends span Friday through Sunday, where all drivers compete in Free Practice sessions, Qualifying sessions, and the Grand Prix. On Fridays, they are given two Free Practice (FP) sessions that last one hour each. Here drivers get a feel for the track, and teams make last-minute tweaks to their strategies and cars.
Saturdays, teams are given one last Free Practice session before Qualifying begins that afternoon. Qualifying (Q) is broken into three back-to-back sessions. Drivers can push for their fastest single-lap time as often or as little as they please within the allotted time. If a driver is eliminated from a qualifying session for a slow time, they can still compete on Sunday from the bottom half of the grid (further back from the starting line) for the Grand Prix. The first Qualifying session (Q1) is 18 minutes long in which drivers compete to be one of the 15 fastest drivers. The bottom five drivers will be eliminated and not allowed to move on to the next Qualifying session. The eliminated drivers’ standings amongst each other will determine their starting positions on the grid for the Grand Prix race. In Q2, drivers have 15 minutes to be in the top 10 fastest times. The five eliminated drivers cannot compete in Q3 and are given their starting positions for the Grand Prix race from Q2. The remaining drivers have 12 minutes to get the fastest lap time in Q3. The driver with the fastest time wins the pole position or the highest starting place.
Sundays are the Grand Prix. Drivers are given reconnaissance laps where they get a feel for the current track conditions and ensure their cars are performing well. After the national anthem, drivers conduct the formation lap, where they warm up their tires and place their cars in their designated spots (assigned by their qualifying performance). When all five lights go out, the Grand Prix has officially begun, where drivers will compete against one another for approximately 305 kilometers/190 miles. Each track is shaped differently depending on its location, so the distance can fluctuate from race to race.
Formula 1 racing is an intense and electrifying sport that requires a high level of skill and strategy from the drivers, teams, and their cars.