A Shout-out To Formula One

October 4th, 2022

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Formula One is an exciting motor racing competition that races the fastest regulated road-course racing cars in the world.  It has been one of the premier forms of racing since its first official season in 1950.

Australia hosts one of the current racing locations in the Formula One Championship, the Australian Grand Prix, which is contracted to host Formula One up until 2035.  Although the Australian Grand Prix has been held at many different locations since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928, currently the Australian Formula One race is held at the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, Albert Park.  The next race scheduled to be held at the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit will be on 30^th March – 2^nd April 2023.  Get you tickets now!

Albert Park, Melbourne F1 Grand Prix Circuit

There have been various changes to the Formula One racing rules since the races began.  A major rule change in 2014 axed the 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated V8 engines in favour of the smaller 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid power units.  This change prompted Honda’s return to the sport in 2015, where they were the championship’s fourth engine manufacturer for the competition.  Mercedes has emerged as the dominant force since that major engine rule change.

Renault came back as a team in 2016 after buying back the Lotus F1 team.  In 2018, Aston Martin became Red Bull and Alfa Romeo became Sauber’s title sponsors.  Sauber was rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2019 season, while Racing Point’s part-owner Lawrence Stroll bought a stake in Aston Martin to rebrand the Racing Point team as Aston Martin for 2021.

In August 2020, a special new Concorde Agreement was signed by all of the ten competing Formula One (F1) teams, which further committed them all to the sport until 2025.  This agreement also included a $145-million budget cap for F1 car development, which also supported equal competition and a sustainable journey of development into the future of F1.

Formula One has also launched a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030, and by 2025, all F1 events should become “sustainable”, which will include eliminating single-use plastics and ensuring all of the race’s waste products are reused, recycled or composted.  2022 sees all F1 cars increasing the bio-component of their fuel, using E10 fuel rather than the 5.75% Ethanol fuel that is currently used.  The percentage of ethanol in the fuel is expected to increase again in the future.  By 2026 we should see a fuel with 100% sustainability; this occurring at the same time that the new engine regulations come into force.

Some Interesting F1 Info

The modern Formula One car is mid-engined and hybrid-powered.  They have a semi-open single-seater racing cockpit, and all four wheels are out in the open.  An F1 car’s chassis is made up using mostly carbon-fibre composites, thus making it very light but also extremely stiff and strong.  The whole F1 car, including the driver but not the fuel, weighs just 795 kg (the minimum weight set by the current regulations).  If the construction of the car is lighter than 795 kg, it can be ballasted up to make the necessary weight requirement.  Each driver may use no more than thirteen sets of dry-weather tyres, 4 sets of intermediate tyres, and 3 sets of wet-weather tyres during one race weekend.

For much of the sport’s history, qualifying sessions differed little from the practice sessions.  The drivers would have one or more sessions in which to set their fastest time, with the grid order being determined by each driver’s best single lap time.  Predictably, the driver with the quickest lap got first place on the grid, which is also referred to as pole position.

The Formula One race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order that each driver qualified.  This warm-up lap is often also referred to as the formation lap because the cars lap the circuit in formation, with no overtaking allowed.  The warm-up lap gives the drivers the chance to check the condition of the track as well as their car, ensuring that the tyres get a chance to warm up to race temperature, thus increasing traction out on the tarmac at high speeds.

The winner of the race is the first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps.  The points system gives 1^st place 25 points, 2^nd place 18 points, 3^rd place 15 points, 4^th place 12 points, 5^th place 10 points, 6^th place 8 points, 7^th place 6 points, 8^th place 4 points, 9^th place 2 points, and 10^th place 1 point.

All points won at each race are added up, and the driver and the formula 1 constructor team with the most points at the end of the season are crowned World Champions.  The points system occurs regardless of whether a driver stays with the same team throughout the season, or switches teams.  Therefore, all the points earned by a driver during the season count toward the Drivers’ Championship title.

Who is driving for which team in 2022?

Formula One is a very exciting high-stakes race to watch.  High speed and loads of drama often play out in front of your eyes, so make sure you book yourself a ticket to the next Melbourne Grand Prix.  And, if you’re wallet’s plump, why not get around some of the other amazing Formula racing locations around the globe come race day.