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Formula 1 can be a scary place: its sheer complexity is something of a turn-off for many looking to follow the sport. We’re about to change all that. Whether you’re completely new to F1, you’ve just watched Drive to Survive on Netflix and want to learn more, or maybe you’re looking to brush up on your terminology to impress your mates down the pub, here’s a fool-proof guide to the fastest sport on Earth.

Guide

So, what actually is Formula 1?

Well, the clue is kind of in the name with the number. Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport – the highest formula in single-seater racing. It’s the most technologically advanced racing series, combining the best cars and drivers and pitting them against each other at circuits all over the world. There’s no other motorsport series with the same commercial power and fan following.

‘Formula’ pertains to the set of rules that are enforced by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which the constructors of the car must follow. The teams that race against each other are free to develop their cars in different ways, but they must abide by a specific set of rules. The first FIA Formula One World Championship took place in 1950 and an F1 race is also known as a ‘grand prix’ – a French term meaning ‘grand prize’.

Wait, what's that Federation thingy, the FI…?

The FIA.

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, or FIA, was established in 1904. It’s a non-profit organisation and is the governing body of the sport. Essentially, what it says goes and its job is to ensure the sport is a level playing field for all entrants and the racing is safe.

Tell me more about the cars?

An F1 car is an open-wheel, open-cockpit, single-seat racing car; these three elements are an intrinsic part of the sport’s DNA, but that doesn’t mean the cars haven’t evolved drastically since the inception of the championship. They are faster, safer, more agile and far more technologically advanced. An F1 car has no equal when it comes lap time around a circuit – that’s not an oval – due to its cornering ability and the speed with which it can accelerate and decelerate.

Why are the cars so quick, particularly through corners? The simple answer: downforce. Downforce is a measure of how much vertical aerodynamic load is created by a car’s aerodynamic surfaces. At high speed the downforce created by airflow around the body of an F1 car will be far in excess of its weight. Theoretically, this would allow it to drive along the ceiling of a tunnel.

And for those wondering what we mean by ‘aerodynamics’, it’s the study of the properties of moving air and the interaction between the air and the car, often the defining science in modern F1 design. Since the 1960s, teams have used downforce-creating wings to push cars into the track to create more grip. The goal is to create more downforce without a corresponding increase in drag. Every surface of the car – including the driver’s helmet – influences aerodynamic behaviour. And a car’s set-up, which includes its aerodynamics, is constantly optimised to suit the demands of every circuit.

All F1 cars must weigh a minimum of 752 kgs without fuel, so the chassis is made using ultra-lightweight materials such as carbon fibre. McLaren was the first team to build a car that had a carbon composite monocoque chassis: the MP4/1. It set the trend for the cars that would follow in Formula 1 and laid the groundwork for material innovation that has become a hallmark of McLaren.

F1 cars are powered by 1.6-litre, V6 turbocharged engines. Mated to a semi-automatic sequential gearbox with eight forward gears and a reverse gear, the engines produce around 1,000 bhp, are limited to 15,000 rpm – revolutions per minute – and are capable of speeds of up to 378 km/h. Each power unit encompasses an Energy Recovery System (ERS): the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H) collects and reuses heat energy from the exhaust, while the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K) collects and reuses heat energy from the brakes. The Energy Store (ES) stores the energy from the MGU-H and MGU-K.

Want to learn more about our 2021 F1 challenger, the MCL35M? Check out its tech spec.

What about the tyres?

For all the time and resources spent on building and developing an F1 car, the only thing that connects it to the track are the tyres. Maximising performance relies on the car working in harmony with the tyres but that’s something of a dark art, as there are so many variables that affect tyre performance, such as temperature, pressure, track surface, weather and driving style.

Pirelli is the official tyre supplier for F1. In a race where the conditions remain dry, a driver must use at least two different compounds, which means they must complete at least one pit-stop. In addition to Intermediate and Wet weather tyres, which have tread on them to remove water from the surface of the tyre, dry F1 tyres are smooth, or ‘slick’, and range from C1 – the hardest compound – to C5 – the softest compound.

Softer compounds will offer more grip and therefore performance but will degrade quicker, whereas harder compounds won’t offer the quite the same grip and performance but will last longer. In qualifying, the softest compound tends to be the favoured tyre as it’s quickest over a single lap but, in the race, harder compounds are preferred over a longer stint.

The compounds can be identified by the colour markings on their sidewalls. Red indicates the softest compound available that weekend, yellow the medium compound and white the hardest. Green is the Intermediate tyre and blue is the full Wet.

How do you win?

Points are awarded if you finish in the top 10. An additional point is awarded to the driver who sets the fastest lap of the race if they finish in the top 10. When a round of the championship adopts the F1 Sprint format, the first three drivers in sprint qualifying will be awarded points: three for the winner down to one point for third.

Finishing position in grand prix	Points awarded
1st	25
2nd	18
3rd	15
4th	12
5th	10
6th	8
7th	6
8th	4
9th	2
10th	1

At the end of the season, the driver with the highest number of points wins the Drivers’ Championship. In the Constructors’ Championship, a team’s tally consists of all the points scored by both its drivers. The team with the highest number of points wins. If drivers or teams finish tied on points, positions are decided on countback: the driver/team that scored the most wins, then the most second places, and so on.

If a race is stopped or cannot restart the leading driver must have completed 75% of the race distance for full points to be awarded. Anything below that and half points will be awarded as long as at least two laps have been completed.

How does a race weekend play out?

A grand prix is held over three days, from Friday to Sunday. Free practice on Friday kicks off the action. There are two one-hour free practice sessions on the opening day of the race weekend, which give drivers and teams the chance to familiarise themselves with the circuit and experiment with set-ups and tyres.

Saturday sees another one-hour practice session take place; this is followed by qualifying which decides the grid for Sunday’s race based on a driver’s fastest lap around the circuit. Qualifying is split into three parts: Q1, Q2 and Q3. At the end of Q1 and Q2, the slowest five drivers are eliminated. They do not advance to the next part of qualifying and their grid position is decided based on their lap time.

At the end of Q3, the driver with the fastest lap time will start the grand prix from pole position, the driver with the second-fastest time will line up second, and so on. If both qualifying and the race start take place in dry conditions, any driver who makes it through to the final part of qualifying will start the race on the tyres with which they set their fastest time in Q2.

Sunday is all about the race. The race distance is 305 km, therefore the total number of laps is determined by number of laps of the circuit required to reach this distance. Just before the start of the race, the drivers complete a formation lap behind the Safety Car: this is to bring the power unit, brakes and tyres up to temperature. The race begins with a standing start from the grid. Five red lights above the start line are illuminated one by one and then after a random pause they are extinguished, signalling the start of the race. Cars are fuelled to complete the entire race distance – refuelling during the race is not permitted. Once the leader has completed the race distance the chequered flag is waved when they cross the finish line to signal the end of the grand prix.

From the 2021 season, F1 has introduced the Sprint format at select rounds of the championship. This sees a change in the schedule of the weekend. One practice session takes place before qualifying on Friday. This qualifying session is the same as a normal F1 qualifying session but, instead of determining the grid for Sunday’s race, it will determine the grid for sprint qualifying which will take place on Saturday after another one-hour practice session. Sprint qualifying is a 100 km race, lasting around 25-30 minutes. The finishing order decides the grid for the grand prix.

Are there any other flags apart from the chequered flag?

Flags are used to communicate to drivers at all levels of motorsport, and F1 is no different. The most commonly used flags are:

Chequered flag: Shown at the start/finish line to indicate the end of a practice session, qualifying or the race. At the end of a grand prix, it is first waved as the winning car approaches. Drivers must return to the pits without stopping and then follow either post-practice, post-qualifying or post-race procedures as required.

Yellow flag: A single yellow flag tells the drivers to slow down and that no overtaking is allowed in this section of the tack, while double-waved yellows do the same but also advises drivers to be prepared to stop if necessary.

Green flag: Shown after yellow flags or a Safety Car period to indicate that track conditions are good and safe, and that normal racing can resume.

Blue flag: Used to alert a driver to the presence of a faster car about to lap them. The driver is required to let the lapping car by. If a driver ignores three blue flags, they will be handed a penalty. The blue flag is also shown at the end of the pit-lane to warn that faster traffic is coming past on the track.

White flag: Shown to warn that a slow-moving vehicle – such as an official medical car – maybe on the track.

Red and yellow flag: A red and yellow striped flag indicates a change in track conditions ahead. This could be debris, oil, standing water or dirt and gravel.

Red flag: Displayed when conditions are unsafe to continue the session or race. When shown during a practice or qualifying session, all cars must immediately reduce speed and proceed slowly back to the pit-lane. If the red flag is shown during a race, drivers will proceed slowly into the pit-lane and line up in the fast lane at the pit exit. They will then be moved into race order in case of a restart, which will take place behind the Safety Car.

Black flag: Shown at the start/finish line, accompanied by a driver’s race number, to indicate that this driver has been disqualified. The driver is required to come into the pits on their next lap and end their involvement in the race.

Who are the drivers and what makes them so special?

You might think that driving an F1 car is just a case of sitting down and turning a wheel – it is, after all, pretty hard to see exactly what a driver is doing when they’re cocooned inside all those layers of carbon fibre. But, F1 drivers are among the fittest athletes on the planet; they have to be able to withstand the extraordinary physical and mental demands that come with driving an F1 car competitively.

Speeds of more than 300 km/h, neck-wrenching deceleration under braking, and mind-bending grip through the corners mean that drivers are subjected to incredible levels of g-force. The lateral g-force experienced by F1 drivers can be as high as 6 g through some corners; a driver’s head and helmet weigh around 6.5 kg which, when multiplied by this amount of g-force, means they will have up to 40 kg pressing against their head and neck – the equivalent of resting a 10-year-old child on the side of their head unsupported.

The physical demands of braking in an F1 car are incredibly high. On average, drivers apply approximately 80-100 kg of force through their left leg against the brake pedal and, during a grand prix, drivers lose between three and four kilograms in body mass caused by water loss and depletion of glycogen (energy) stores.

So, just who’s in the cockpit for McLaren? Well, we’ve got one of the sport’s rising stars in the shape of 21-year-old Brit Lando Norris. After a meteoric rise through the junior single-seater ranks, he’s captured hearts and minds since he made his F1 debut with McLaren in 2019. Rapid in the car and hugely relatable out of it, Lando has a maturity that belies his age and he’s grown with the team as we’ve worked our way back up the grid. In the short time he’s been on the grid he’s already racked up five podiums, two fastest laps and McLaren’s first pole position in nine years.

On the other side of the garage you’ll find our ebullient Aussie, Daniel Ricciardo. Don’t let his laid-back and jokey demeanour fool you though. Nicknamed the Honey Badger, he’s fiercely competitive and one of the most experienced drivers in F1. The 32-year-old is a proven race winner and that’s exactly why he joined McLaren this season, to win – something he did emphatically at the Italian Grand Prix when bringing home McLaren’s first victory since 2012.

While you won’t see them in the cockpit at race weekends, test and development drivers Oliver Turvey and Will Stevens will be pounding around the track in our simulator at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking to help perfect set-ups and develop the car. They play a pivotal role in the team’s pursuit of performance. Rumour even has it that Oliver has driven enough miles in the simulator to get to the moon!

And the teams?

F1 isn’t just about the drivers, it’s about the teams. In fact, the drivers are part of the teams, along with technicians, engineers, designers, aerodynamicists and support staff who design, build and operate the car. Teams are distinguished by their colours and they enter two cars into every grand prix – one for each of their race drivers. In the case of McLaren, that colour is Papaya.

Tell me more about McLaren?

McLaren was founded in 1963 by New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren. The team entered its first F1 race in 1966 and won its first grand prix in Belgium in 1968. 53 years after that first win, and McLaren has won a total of 182 grands prix and 20 world championships with some of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen, including Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen and Lewis Hamilton. To this day, the team works to the values embodied by Bruce: pragmatism, humility and a solid belief in the strength of teamwork and the value of good, honest engineering.

Glossary

Think you’ve got a handle on what F1 is about? Now it’s time to bring you up to speed on the lingo, so you know exactly what team members and commentators are talking about.

Apex

The apex of a corner – also known as the clipping point – is the mid-point of the turn, when the driver comes closest to the inside kerb of the turn. Its position can vary depending on the type of corner and how the driver crafts his racing line – a fast turn will have an apex early, while a slow hairpin will have a ‘late’ apex. Some corners, such as the Turns 16-18 complex at the Circuit of the Americas, can even have several apex points.

Aquaplaning

On a wet track, even special treaded wet-weather tyres for F1, which can shift up to 65 litres of water per second, can build up a micro-thin layer of water between the tyre and track. In extreme circumstances the car can effectively float on top of the water. As a result, the driver is in serious risk of losing control, with steering and braking ineffective. Teams will also raise the ride height of the cars so the stepped underbody isn’t at risk of aquaplaning.

Backmarker

Backmarkers are drivers circulating at the back of the field, who are likely to be lapped by drivers at the front of the field.

Bite point find

When leaving the garage a race engineer will frequently ask the driver to carry out a bite point find. As with a road car, establish the biting point for the clutch enables a quicker getaway. In an F1 car this needs to be monitored and recorded periodically as the carbon fibre clutch is subject to wear and thus the bite point moves – hence the driver is required to relocate the bite point once the clutch is up to temperature.

Bottoming

Bottoming occurs when the underbody of an F1 car hits the track surface. F1 cars run low ride heights to keep the car’s centre of gravity low and aid the creation of aerodynamic downforce. As the suspension compresses at speed and in cornering, this ride height becomes smaller, making the car even more likely to ‘bottom out’ on sudden bumps or kerbs. As the underbody includes a wooden plank to measure ride height, this can leave brown stains on the track where it wears.

Brake balance

Drivers can adjust the bias of how much brake pressure goes from the pedal to the front and rear brakes using the brake balance dial. In dry conditions, drivers want more brake pressure on the front of the car than the rear – usually a 60:40 or 55:45 split. As the weight, balance and tyre performance of the car changes during a race, drivers adjust the brake balance to suit the handling. In wet conditions, the front brakes are more likely to lock up, so drivers will push the brake bias further towards the rear.

Clean air

When drivers are on an empty track or are clear of their rivals, they’re racing in what they term ‘clean air’. This is the optimum state for an F1 car’s aerodynamics. As air passes over an F1 car, it produces a wake of turbulent air behind that hampers the aerodynamic flow of cars directly behind it. The following car loses downforce, making it slower in the turns, as well as making the engine cooling less effective. So, drivers always try to avoid running behind rivals and hunt for ‘clean air’ where possible.

Dirty air

As air passes over an F1 car’s surfaces it produces a wake of turbulent air that hampers the aerodynamic flow of cars directly behind it. This wake – nicknamed ‘dirty air’ – can be of benefit to a following car on the straight, as the car in front is effectively punching a hole in the air and doing more work. Dirty air does, however, hamper the efficiency of the following car’s own aerodynamic surfaces, reducing downforce, making it slower in the turns, and limiting the effectiveness of the cooling system.

Drag Reduction System (DRS)

A flap on the rear wing that, when lifted, reduces drag to allow an F1 car to travel faster and aid overtaking. It can only be activated at certain points around the circuit, known as ‘DRS zones’, and when a car is less than one second behind the car in front.

Flat spot

When a driver locks the car’s front brakes, it can cause one or both the front tyres to stop rotating, causing them to slide along the track surface rather than roll along it and wear a flat surface into the tyre.

Flow-vis

Flow-vis – short for flow visualisation – is a paint-like substance used for aerodynamic testing during practice sessions. A high-contrast luminous colour, it is applied to an area of the car – for example, one side of the front wing – in the garage. The driver will do a short run during which airflow around the car will cause the flow-vis to run. When the car returns to the garage the pattern will be carefully photographed before the car is cleaned. Typically the flow-vis test will be used to corroborate data gathered in CFD or the wind tunnel. It’s simple and very effective – though it does create quite a mess!

Flying lap

A flying lap – sometimes referred to as a ‘hot lap’ or ‘timed lap’ is a lap of the circuit in which the driver does a complete circuit of the track in free practice or qualifying. In general, a flying lap refers to a lap on which a driver is pushing to set a fast time – different to a warm-up or cool-down lap on which the driver is attempting to get his car into the optimal condition for a subsequent flying lap. During qualifying in particular, drivers will want as clear a road in front of them as possible so they’re not hampered by slower traffic on a flying lap.

Graining

Graining occurs when strips of rubber are torn from a tyre and then immediately stick back onto the hot surface of that tyre. This creates an uneven, irregular surface that makes braking and cornering difficult while reducing grip and traction. Graining typically occurs when the tyre is sliding laterally and is more common with the softer tyres. It is often a short-term problem, as the graining goes away once the tyre wears and becomes uniform again.

Green track

Lap times generally improve as the grand prix weekend progresses because the track develops more grip as the racing line is swept clean of dirt and more rubber is laid down. This is known as ‘track evolution’. A permanent race circuit in regular use will see a small amount of evolution between the start of the first free practice session and the end of the race but a little-used venue, particularly a temporary street circuit, will undergo dramatic changes. At the start of the weekend, when the racing line has its lowest level of grip, the track is often referred to as being in a ‘green’ state.

Hairpin

A hairpin is a slow corner that doubles back on itself. These are invariably among the slowest corners on the track, requiring drivers to brake incredibly hard to under 100 km/h and use a special line that sacrifices speed on the entry, but creates a smoother, straighter line on the exit for better acceleration onto the next straight.

Halo

The Halo is a protective titanium structure that helps to prevent large objects and debris from entering the cockpit of an F1 car.

HANS

HANS stands for Head and Neck Support. The U-shaped device is a type of head restraint that is mandatory in F1. In the event of a crash, it reduces the likelihood of head or neck injuries.

Install lap

An installation lap is a medium-speed, one-lap run, with the cars coming straight back to the pitlane at the end. An installation lap is usually done early in a test or free practice session so the team and driver can check certain key parameters of the car – such as engine, throttle and brake performance – are all working properly.

Jump start

A driver is deemed to have made a jump start if they move off their grid position before the five red lights on the start gantry go out. Movement is detected by sensors embedded in the track and the transponders located in the cars. A driver adjudged to have made a jump start will be called into the pits to serve a penalty.

Lift and coast

If a driver is at risk of running out of fuel before the end of the race, they need to try to conserve fuel. One way of doing this is by ‘lifting and coasting’: the driver lifts off the throttle and cruises into a braking zone.

Marbles

As F1 tyres are used, they throw off little curls of rubber that accumulate on the side of the track. As a grand prix weekend goes on, especially during the race when the track can’t be cleaned, this build-up of rubber off the racing line can become incredibly difficult to drive on. Drivers liken it to racing on marbles – hence the name. This is one of the reasons why overtaking a rival off the racing line can be incredibly difficult.

Pit-stop

A pit-stop refers to the practice of bringing the car into the pit-lane for mechanics to work on it. A standard pit-stop, which may happen in practice, qualifying or a race, sees the crew change tyres and perhaps adjust the angle of the car’s front wing. They’ll also carry out tasks such as cleaning the driver’s visor and the car’s rear wing. A good pit-stop has the car stationary for less than three seconds. Longer pit-stops may include activities such as replacing a damaged nosecone or removing debris from radiator intakes and brake ducts. In F1, refuelling is not carried out during pitstops.

Purple sector

Timing screens in F1 use a colour-coding system. A driver setting a sector or lap time coloured purple has set the fastest time of the session so far. Setting a sector or lap time coloured green indicates a personal best.

Rake

Rake refers to the car altitude created by raising rear ride height in relation to front ride height, effectively setting the car up with an upward slope front-to-rear. Rake helps the aerodynamics of the car work efficiently, lowering the nose but allowing the floor of the car to interact effectively with the airflow around it. A rake angle that’s too shallow limits the ability of the car’s underside and diffuser to work properly; too steep and, likewise, the underbody will become less efficient aerodynamically – but also the car runs the risk of the nose and bib scraping the track surface, particularly when running light.

Slipstream

When closely following a car on a straight, the car in front effectively punches a hole in the air and does more work. The following car can use the extra speed to get past into the next corner – a technique known as slipstreaming.

Track temperature

Track temperature is a critical parameter in F1 tyre performance. Because the asphalt of grand prix circuit soaks up heat from the sun it can be considerably warmer than the ambient air temperature, often by 10°C or more. Hotter track surfaces cause more tyre wear, meaning that soft tyres will last considerably less distance, and that harder tyres may be more optimal for the conditions. Track temperature may rise above 60°C at hot-weather races.

Undercut

When a driver pits early to take advantage of the performance from fresh tyres, which will hopefully put them ahead of rivals ahead when they pit.

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