As you may already know, a Formula One Grand Prix lasts for a whole weekend. On Friday there are two free practices, and on Sunday there is another one. But these free practice sessions are not useless as you may think, as third drivers are allowed to run on Fridays for teams that finished the preceding season in 5th place or lower. A final session organized after the practices counts as qualification for the big event. The qualifying session has been through numerous changes during the last few years, as FIA has tried to bring back to life the interest in it.
2006 is the year that introduced a new qualifying system. This is how it all goes, starting with Round 11, the 2006 French Grand Prix. In the beginning, all 22 cars are allowed on the track for a 15 minute qualification session. Drivers may complete as many laps as they want, but only their fastest time will count. Until 2006, drivers on a timed lap did not have their time registered once the 15 minutes were up, because the clocks were stopped right at the end of the session. From Round 11, any car running a timed lap at the time of the chequered flag has the right to complete the lap. The slowest six cars will no longer compete in the qualifying session and these cars will make up the last six grid positions in the order of their times, of course.
The next 15 minutes session for the rest of the cars starts with times set back to zero. But the slowest cars will take the positions from 11 to 16 in the grid.
Finally, the last 10 cars will start the next session arranged on the grid in positions one to ten in the order of their times. The difference between this final session and the first two ones is that the drivers must begin the final 15-minute session with the fuel load on which they plan to start the race. The fuel they use in this session will be precisely replaced.
So, when the race is set to begin, the first lap is the one in which the cars must take the positions on the grid for which they have qualified for. This is called a formation lap.
The start of the race is signaled by a light system above the track. During a race, drivers are allowed to make as many pit stops they like, so that they refuel and change their tires.
The first eight drivers to cross the finish line are awarded from 10 points for the winner of the race, to 1 point for the eighth driver. This is what a Grand Prix is all about!
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