Formula 1 showdown

The classic story of the veteran star vs the new talent on the track ends this weekend with a battle for the championship…. The last race of the season will determine who is the world champion. Both Mercedes’ driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen are tied on points going into the Abu Dhabi GP this weekend (369.5). The last time 2 drivers were tied on points going into the final round was in 1974.

There are 21 rounds all around the world. The USA is becoming a bigger market for F1 with a round in Austin, TX but the league is looking to add more stops. 140,000 people attended the race on Sunday in Austin (400,000 over the weekend’s festivities).

During the penultimate round (in Saudi), Verstappen got a time penalty but ended up in second with Hamilton leveling the points by winning the race. That race had everything: crashes, red flags and even the safety car came out.

The Players:

Lewis Hamilton

GBR – 36 years old – #44 – 287 starts – 7 world championships – 103 wins – 181 podiums – 103 poles

• It is customary that after you win a world championship, that you run the #1 plate (number on your car) however he declined and wanted to keep his original #44.
• This world championship would surpass Michael Schumacher making him the undisputed GOAT in F1.
  • They are tied right now at 7 apiece
  • Won: 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Max Verstappen

NED – 24 years old – #33 – 140 starts – 19 wins – 59 podiums – 12 poles

• His new stardom and way of driving as made him a fan favorite in his young career
• He is the youngest driver to have ever competed in F1, making his racing debut in 2015 when he was just 17 years old. He won his first race as an 18 year old.
• His dad was a former teammate of Schumacher’s in the 90s.

Why is this rivalry so good?

Not only is it the age-old story of the veteran star vs the new rookie talent but it is also heated. Both drivers have been chippy on and off the track. The 2 have collided 3xs in this season alone. In the media, Hamilton has quipped that Verstappen thinks rules don’t apply to him. While Verstappen has come out swinging saying his opinion of Hamilton and Mercedes has gone down over the season and hinted at his suspicions that the car was not legal earlier this year. Even the two drivers’ bosses don’t like each other. Needless to say get ready to see some sparks fly.

How it works:

• Free Practices (3) are used to get the drivers used to the track and are an hour long.
  • A team can replace a regular driver with a 3^rd (test or reserve) in the first free practice to test things out
• Qualifying determines the drivers spot on the starting grid and is usually done the day before the race.
  • Done in a 3 knockout stages (takes ~1 hour total)
    • Q1 is 18 min long with all 20 cars
      • At the end of Q1, the slowest 5 cars are eliminated and placed in 16-20 spots on the grid for the race the next day based on their fastest lap time
      • The fastest lap of those drivers gets 16th
    • Q2 works the same way with another 5 cars being eliminated
    • Q3 is shortened to 12 min with only 10 cars and each car gets a new set of soft tires.
      • This is important because each team only gets a certain number of soft tires per race round so they need to be used wisely
      • Fastest lap out of Q3 gets pole position for the race
    • Every car that races has to be within 7% of the pole’s time. That keeps the race safer as faster cars are not passing a lot slower drivers.
  • This year F1 trialed a sprint qualifying system. The grid was determined by a 100km sprint race on Saturday. The winner of the sprint race got pole position for the actual race on Sunday and received 3 championship points. 2^nd and 3^rd got 2 and 1 points as well.
• The top 10 drivers (Q3) must start the race on the same type of tires they used to set their fastest lap time in Q2
• They must make a pit stop during a dry race. Newer tires are faster tires but a driver can stop at any point during the race. There is some strategy involved on when a driver pitstops.
  • During a wet race, drivers are not required to make a stop.
• The racers get warm up laps before the race. This allows them to check out the conditions of the track, do a system check and get heat into their tires.
  • #GFHint: you can tell it’s a warm up lap because the racers go through pit lane and do not touch the grid before lining up to start the race.
• Lights going out = race start
• Points per place
  • 1 – 25 points
  • 2 – 18 points
  • 3 – 15 points
  • 4 – 12 points
  • 5 – 10 points
  • 6 – 8 points
  • 7 – 6 points
  • 8 – 4 points
  • 9 – 2 points
  • 10 – 1 point

Teams 

• Mercedes has dominated F1 since 2014
• Also in F1, there is a team championship
  • Mercedes currently leads with 587.5 points
  • Red Bull is in 2^nd with 559.5 points
  • The other teams are 307 points of lower
• There are 10 teams that all enter 2 cars
  • Mercedes
    • Valtteri Bottas
    • Lewis Hamilton
  • Red Bull Racing
    • Max Verstappen
    • Sergio Perez
  • Ferrari
    • Carlos Sainz
    • Charles Leclerc
  • McLaren
    • Lando Morris
    • Daniel Ricciardo
  • Alpine
    • Esteban Ocon
    • Fernando Alonso
  • AlphaTauri
    • Yuki Tsunoda
    • Pierre Gasly
  • Aston Martin
    • Lance Stroll
    • Sebastian Vettel
  • Williams
    • Georgie Russell
    • Nicholas Latifi
  • Alfa Romeo Racing
    • Kimi Raikkonen
    • Antonio Giovinazzi
  • Haas F1 Team
    • Mick Schumacher
    • Nikita Mazepin

Vocab:

• 107% rule: the rule that says any car not within 7% of the pole position’s time on track will not qualify for the race.
• Aerodynamics: the study of airflow around the car design
• Apex: middle point of the race line around a corner (where the drivers aim for in the corner)
• Blistering: when parts of the tires overheat and break away in chucks or soften
• Bodywork: carbon fiber outer shell of the car
• Box: come in for a pit stop
• Chassis: part of the car at which the engine and suspension are attached

• Checkered flag: session is over
  • No new laps can be started after the checkered flag comes out
• Chicane: tight corners in opposite directions in a sequence
  • These are usually used to slow down cars
• Compound: tread compound is what the tire is made out of
  • Ideally you want a compound that maximizes grip but has decent durability
• Degradation: process tires loses grip
• Delta time: time between 2 different laps or 2 different cars
• Drag: aerodynamic resistance on the car
• Drive-through penalty: drivers must enter pit lane during the race by which having to abide by a speed limit causes them to slow down before rejoining the race
• Flying lap: driver is attempting their fastest lap on circuit
• Grid Penalties: when a race gets penalized a certain number of positions on the starting grid due to an infraction (usually exceeding component limits or offenses in previous qualifying and races, etc)
• In lap: when the driver re-enters pit lane
• Lap Traffic: when slower cars get passed by the leaders who are an entire lap ahead
• Lock-up: when one of the tires ‘locks’ while another keeps rotating
• Marbles: the small pieces of tire that come off and build up during a race off the race line
• Marshal: course official – aka – F1’s version of refs or umpires
• Out lap: when the driver leaves the pits to drive around the track to get in order at the staring grid
• Paddock: area behind the pits for teams and rivers only
• Parc Ferme: where the cars and drivers go after qualifying or the race (usually top 3)
• Pit Board: a board that is held on the wall for drivers to see and get instructions or places

• Pits: where the teams wait to change tires usually by the grid/finish line
• Pole: 1st place in qualifying i.e.1st place on the starting grid
• Race Line: the best path a driver should take around a corner
• Red flag: when this comes out, it means the race is stopped.
• Sectors: segments of a lap (usually split into 3 generally equal parts)
• Slipstream: the effect a driver can use to achieve higher speed by ducking behind another car lessening the drag on their car and use that acceleration to pass
• Torque: used to measure engine flexibility
  • More torque allows the driver to use power over a wider rev range
  • Less torque means optimum power is only available at limited times
• Traction: degree a car is able to transfer power onto the surface of the track to go forward

 

This round:

The Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi GP is the final round this weekend as Yas Marina Circuit. Practices start Friday with Qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. There are 21 corners on the 5.5km track. The lap record is held by Sebastian Vettel with a time of 1:40.279. The drivers will do 58 laps.

Race direction reminded everyone in the F1 community this week that drivers can be punished with a points deduction or race ban is it is found that a driver crashed into an opponent on purpose… Important to note as in the event of a tie (both cars DNF), Verstappen would take the Championship. The tie breaker goes to who has more wins on the season. If Verstappen crashes out, Hamilton will still need to take 10th or better to win the championship.

Schedule of events:

• Fri 12/10
  • Free Practice 1 @ 3:30am
  • Free Practice 2 @ 7am
• Sat 12/11
  • Free Practice 3 @ 4am
  • Qualifying @ 7am
• Sun 12/12
  • Race @ 7am on ESPN2

Dumb Questions about Formula 1?

• Why are there so many laps and it’s different at each track?
  • The number of laps is determined by the shortest number of complete laps it takes to go 305km.
  • The largest number of laps on the F1 circuit is in Holland where they run 72.
  • The exception is in Monaco where the drivers only go 260.5km
  • The race cannot exceed 2 hours. If the race does go 2 hours, the race ends next time the lead car crosses the line.
• Why do the drivers have to come in for a pit stop?
  • The tires will eventually wear down that they will warrant a stop. Drivers like to optimize maximum grip with tires that will still last the whole race.
• Why do the cars spark?
  • That happens on uneven parts of the track that hit the floor of the car. There is actually a skid block (block of wood) on the bottom of the cars and if that wood is worn down more than a millimeter, the car is DQ’d.
• I heard the term penalty points. Are those the same as the ones on a regular driver’s license?
  • Kinda! Each driver accumulates penalty points for on-track incidents. After a racer has 12 = 1 race ban.