Racing and strategy

A Formula One Grand Prix event spans a weekend, beginning with two free practice sessions on Friday (except in Monaco, where Friday practices are moved to Thursday), and one free practice on Saturday. Additional drivers (commonly known as third drivers) are allowed to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to give up their seat. A Qualifying session is held after the last free practice session. This session determines the starting order for the race.

Qualifying

A typical pitwall control centre, from which the team managers and strategists communicate with their drivers and engineers over the course of a testing session and race weekend.For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have an entire session in which to attempt to set their fastest time, sometimes within a limited number of attempts, with the grid order determined by each driver's the best single lap, fastest (on pole position) to slowest. Grids were limited to the fastest 26 cars and drivers had to lap within 107% of the pole sitter's time to qualify for the race. Other formats have included Friday pre-qualifying, and sessions in which each driver was allowed only one qualifying lap, run separately in a predetermined order.

The current qualifying system, known as "knock-out" qualifying and adopted starting with the 2006 season, is split into three periods. In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to attempt to advance to the next period, running as many laps as they wish, with the slowest drivers being "knocked out" at the end of the period and their grid positions set. Cars are eliminated in this manner until 10 cars remain eligible to attempt to qualify for pole position in the third and final period. For each period, all previous times are reset, and only a driver's fastest lap in that period (barring infractions) counts. Under current rules, for all periods, any timed lap started before the chequered flag falls signalling the end of that period may be completed, and will count toward that driver's placement, even if they cross the finish line after the period has ended. In the first two periods, cars may run any fuel load they wish, and drivers eliminated in these periods are allowed to refuel prior to the race. Cars taking part in the final period, however, must start the race with the fuel load left at the end of qualifying, meaning they must run the final period with their desired initial race fuel load in addition to fuel sufficient to complete the qualifying period itself.

For example, for a 20-car grid, all 20 cars are permitted to take part in the first period. At the end of the period, the slowest five cars are eliminated and take up the last five grid positions (16 to 20) in the order of their times. In the second period, the remaining fifteen cars take part, with five more cars eliminated at the end, taking the next five lowest grid positions (11 to 15). In the third and final period, the remaining 10 cars compete for pole position, and fill grid positions 1 through 10.

The knock-out format has received minor updates since its inception, such as adjustments to the number of drivers eliminated in each period as the total number of cars entered has changed.

The race
The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground provided he has not fallen to the back of the field). The warm up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car and it also gives the tyres a chance to get some heat in them to get some much needed traction, and also allows the pit crews to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid.

Once all the cars have formed on the grid, a light system above the track indicates the start of the race. Five red lights are illuminated one-by-one. The five lights are then extinguished simultaneously (instead of showing a green light), after a computer generated random time (typically less than 3 seconds) to signal the start of the race. The start procedure may be abandoned if a driver stalls on the grid, signalled by flashing amber lights. If this happens the procedure will restart and a new formation lap will begin and the offending car removed from the grid. The race may also be restarted in the event of a serious accident or dangerous conditions, with the original start voided. The race may also be started from behind the Safety Car if officials feel a racing start would be excessively dangerous. There is no formation lap when races start behind the Safety Car.

The winner of the race is the first driver to cross the finish line having completed a set number of laps (which added together should give a distance of approximately 305 km (190 mi) (or 260 km (160 mi) for Monaco). Races are limited to two hours, although only tend to last this long in the case of extreme weather. Drivers may overtake one another for position over the course of the race and are 'Classified' in the order they finished the race. If a leader comes across a back marker who has completed fewer laps than him, the back marker is shown a blue flag telling him he is obliged to pull over to allow the leader to overtake him. The slower car is said to be 'lapped' and once the leader finishes the race is classified as finishing the race 'one lap down'. A driver can be lapped numerous times, by any car in front of him. A driver who fails to finish a race, through mechanical problems, accident or any other reason is said to have retired from the race and is 'Not Classified' in the results.

Throughout the race, drivers may make pit stops in order to refuel and change tyres. Different teams and drivers will employ different pit stop strategies in order to maximise their car's potential. There are two tyre compounds made available to drivers with different characteristics. Over the course of a race, drivers must use both available tyre compounds. One compound will have a performance advantage over the other and choosing when to use which compound is a key tactical decision to make. The softer of the available tyre compounds are marked with a green stripe on the tyre's sidewall to help spectators to understand the strategies. Under wet conditions drivers may switch to specialised wet weather tyres with additional grooves, and are no longer obliged to use both types of dry tyres. Typically, a driver will make between one and three scheduled stops, although he may have to make further stops to fix damage or if weather conditions change.

Safety Car
In the event of an incident that risks the safety of competitors or trackside marshals, race officials may chose to deploy the Safety Car. This in effect neutralizes the race, with drivers following the Safety Car around the track in race order and at reduced speeds with overtaking not permitted. The safety car circulates until the danger is cleared when the race will restart with a 'rolling start'. Pit stops are permitted under the Safety Car.

Red Flag
In the event of a major incident or unsafe weather conditions, the race may be red flagged. Depending on the race distance covered at the time of the red flag, this can have several meanings:
If under 3 laps have been completed, the race is restarted from original grid positions. All drivers may take the restart, provided their car is in a fit state to do so.
If between 3 laps and 75% of the race distance have been completed, the race may be restarted once it is safe to do so using the race order at the time of the red flag. The two hour time limit still applies and the clock does not stop.
If more than 75% of the race distance has been completed then the race is finished and the race result counted back to the second last completed lap before the red flag.
The format of the Race has changed little through Formula One's history. The main changes have revolved around what changes are allowed at Pit Stops. In the early days of Grand Prix racing, a driver would be allowed to continue a race in his teammates car should his develop a problem. In recent years however, the focus has been on refuelling and tyre-changes. From the 2010 season, refuelling will be banned to encourage less tactical racing, having only been re-introduced in 1994 following safety fears. The rule requiring both compounds of tyre to be used during the race was only introduced in 2008, again to encourage racing on the track. The Safety Car is another relatively recent innovation that meant fewer red flags were required, allowing races to be completed on time for a growing international live television audience.

Points system
Points awarded for finishing position Place Points
1st 10
2nd 8
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
Main article: List of Formula One World Championship pointscoring systems
Various systems for awarding championship points have been used since 1950. In 2009, the top eight cars are awarded points, the winner receiving 10 points. The total number of points won at each race are added together and the driver and constructor with the most points at the end of the season are World Champions. If both a team's cars finish in the points, they both receive Constructors Championship points, meaning the Drivers and Constructors Championships often have different results.

To receive points a racer must be Classified. Strictly speaking in order to be Classified a driver need not finish the race, but complete at least 90% of the winner's race distance. Therefore, it is possible for a driver to receive some points even though he retired before the end of the race.

In the event that less than 75% of the race laps are completed, only half points are awarded to the drivers and constructors. This has happened on only five occasions in the history of the championship, with the last occurrence at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix when the race was called off after 31 laps due to torrential rain.

A driver can switch teams during the season and keep any points gained at the previous team.

From 2010, it is possible that the winner of the two annual championships may be the driver with the most wins and the team with the most points at the end of the season. In the case of a tie in wins, the drivers' championship would be awarded to the driver having the higher number of points; if these are equal, second place finishes are considered, and so on. The scoring system whereby the driver with the most wins (as opposed to most accumulated points) becomes world champion was due to be introduced for the 2009 season; however following protests from F1 teams and drivers this rule change has been deferred until a possible 2010 introduction. The points system therefore remains unchanged for 2009.