#formula-faq
manic hamlet
During a race weekend, the teams and drivers have sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Friday: On Fridays, the teams and drivers have two practice sessions that last one hour each where they can test their cars, different setups and anything else they want.
Saturday: On Saturdays, the teams and drivers have one final practice session, followed by a qualifying session. Under the current format there is Q1, Q2 and Q3.
- In Q1, all 22 cars take part and compete for a spot in the top 16 - this session lasts for 18 minutes.
- Q2 follows after Q1 and only the 16 fastest drivers from Q1 partake in the fight for a spot in the top 10 - this session lasts for 15 minutes.
- Q3 is the final qualifying round and only the 10 fastest drivers from Q2 take part in the fight for pole position - this session lasts for 13 minutes.
Sunday: Sunday is race day. The race lasts for around 305 KM or two hours, whichever comes first.
During a Sprint race weekend, the teams and drivers follow a slightly different schedule compared to a normal race weekend, with sessions still taking Place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Friday: On Fridays, the teams and drivers only have one practice session that lasts one hour. Later during the day, a shortened qualifying session takes place, setting the grid for the Sprint race. The format of the Sprint Qualifying session contains SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3.
- In SQ1, all 22 cars take part and compete for a spot in the top 16 - this session lasts for 12 minutes.
- SQ2 follows after SQ1 and only the 16 fastest drivers from SQ1 partake in the fight for a spot in the top 10 - this session lasts for 10 minutes.
- SQ3 is the final qualifying round and only the 10 fastest drivers from SQ2 take part in the fight for pole position - this session lasts for only 10 minutes.
Saturday: Saturday is Sprint day. The day starts with the Sprint race, which is a shortened version of the normal Grand Prix, and lasts for around 100 KM or 30 minutes.
Later in the day, normal qualifying for the Grand Prix takes place. This follows the same format that is described for a regular race weekend above.
Sunday: Sunday is Grand Prix day, and follows the same format described for a regular race weekend above.
There are three different tyre compounds available for all 22 drivers during a race weekend.
Soft 
: The soft tyre is the softest and fastest tyre available. It also has the highest amount of grip out of any other available tyre. The drawback is that it has a very short Life, and wears out quickly.
Medium 
: The medium tyre is the middle ground between the soft and hard compound. It has less grip compared to the soft, but more grip compared to the hard. The medium tyre lasts longer than the soft, but shorter than the hard.
Hard 
: The hard tyre is the hardest tyre available. It does not have as much grip as the other two compounds, but lasts for longer.
Wet weather tyres 
: In case of rain during any session, the teams have the choice of using either the intermediate or wet tyre compounds. The intermediate tyre is best suited for conditions where the track is not fully wet, but not dry enough for dry tyres. The wet tyre is used when the track surface is completely wet.
The points distribution for a normal Grand Prix weekend is as follows:
1st: 
25 Points
2nd: 18 Points
3rd: 15 Points
4th: 12 Points
5th: 10 Points
6th: 7 Points
7th: 6 Points
8th: 4 Points
9th: 2 Points
10th: 1 Point
11th-22nd: 0 Points
During a Sprint weekend, the points distribution is as follows:
1st: 8 Points
2nd: 7 Points
3rd: 6 Points
4th: 5 Points
5th: 4 Points
6th: 3 Points
7th: 2 Points
8th: 1 Points
9th-22nd: 0 Points
manic hamlet
The Feeder Series are so-called "junior formulas", we will be talking about Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 Academy specifically,
In layman terms, they are racing series with slower and less complex cars, different teams to Formula 1, and overall closer racing due to the cars being mostly equal. The junior formulas are proving ground for drivers trying to climb the ladder to Formula 1.
Different teams have different engineers with different amounts of experience and skill. This means that the team(s) with better engineers will typically have a better and faster car and setup than the others.
- In spec-series such as Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 Academy, having the perfect setup has a greater impact on the overall laptime and driveability of the car compared to, for example, Formula 1.
- The different teams also have different amounts of funding, which can lead to them having better simulators and/or better, fresher car parts.
In junior formulas, each driver will usually bring their own sponsors to a team, and are often part of different junior programmes which can result in different designs and liveries of the cars and driver suits. For example, a driver contracted to the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy will typically have the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy logo on their car and their race suits, and are then also typically red.
A Formula 2 and Formula 3 weekend contains a practice session, a qualifying session and two races.
- The practice session lasts for 45 minutes on Friday morning and allows the drivers to learn the track and the teams to learn about the car, tyres and anything else they want.
- A 45 minute qualifying session follows later on the Friday. Here, all drivers compete to start as far up the grid as possible.
- On Saturday, one Sprint Race takes place. This race lasts for around 120 KM or 45 minutes, depending on what comes first. In Formula 2, the top 10 from qualifying is reversed for the starting grid of this race, while in Formula 3 the top 12 from qualifying is reversed.
- On Sunday, the Feature Race takes place. This race lasts for around 170 KM or one hour, depending on what comes first. In Formula 2, all drivers are required to make a mandatory pitstop and tyre change in this race. This means that each driver must use at least one set of each specification of dry-weather tyre during this race.
A F1 Academy race weekend can contain up to two practice sessions, one qualifying session and two races.
- The weekend starts on the Friday with one or two practice sessions lasting up to 40 minutes each. In this session, the teams and drivers get to learn anything they want about the track, car and tyres.
- A 30 minute qualifying session takes place on Saturday morning. In this session, the drivers fight to start as far up the grid as possible for the races.
- Later during the Saturday, Race 1 takes place and lasts for around 70 KM or 30 minutes, depending on what comes first. The grid for this race is set by reversing the top 8 drivers from qualifying.
- On Sunday morning, Race 2 takes place. Like the first race, this race also lasts for around 70 KM or 30 minutes. The grid for this race is set based on each drivers fastest lap during the qualifying session.
The points system in Formula 2 and Formula 3 are very similar to what we see in Formula 1, although there are slight differences, with less points being awarded for the Sprint Races.
- In both Formula 2 and Formula 3, driver that takes pole position for the Feature Race will be awarded with two points.
- For the Sprint Race, the drivers in the top 8 at the finish will be awarded points as follows: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
- In the Feature Race, the top 10 finishers will be awarded points as follows: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1.
- At the end of both races, the driver in the top 10 with the fastest lap of the race will be awarded with one extra point.
The F1 Academy points system is similar to that in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
- For Race 1, the top 8 finishers will be awarded points as follows: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.
- In Race 2, the top 10 finishers will be awarded points as follows: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1.
- At the end of Race 1, the driver in the top 8 with the fastest lap of the race will be awarded with one extra point. The same goes for Race 2, but instead the driver with the fastest lap in the top 10 is awarded the extra point.
A single yellow flag indicates a danger ahead, such as debris after a crash. Drivers must slow down as they pass, and overtaking is forbidden unless it is unavoidable such as a driver retiring or a driver being lapped.
- A double yellow also indicates a danger ahead, but now the drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop.
- A yellow flag(s) together with a Safety Car board (a white board with "SC" in large black lettering), indicates that the Safety Car has been deployed. Drivers must slow down, and be prepared to leave the normal racing line or even stop on track - overtaking is also prohibited.
A green flag indicates that any previous danger on the track has been attended to. The track is now clear and drivers may proceed at racing speed and overtaking is now allowed. When the Race Director so directs, this flag may be displayed during the formation lap, or at the start of a practice session (in this case, all marshal posts will show green flags).
A red flag indicates that the race, practice session or qualifying session has been suspended. All marshal posts will signal this. Drivers are prohibited to leave the pit lane, and all drivers currently on track must cautiously proceed to the pit lane and stop. In a race situation, the cars will then be re-ordered in the correct racing order based on the last time every car crossed the Safety Car line.
- Sessions may be resumed or abandoned at the discretion of the Race Director.
- If the Safety Car is deployed, all cars must follow it and be prepared for the Safety Car to lead all drivers into the pit lane.
A blue flag indicates to a driver that a faster car is approaching. In practice sessions and qualifying sessions they help drivers being impeded on quick laps, but in the race they are shown to drivers that are about to be lapped.
- If a driver is shown a blue flag, they must allow the following car past at the earliest opportunity.
- Backmarkers may be pre-warned when a faster car is approaching, and when the car behind is close the marshals will wave a blue flag, drivers are also notified by the flashing screens at the side of the track and lights on their steering wheel.
- If a driver fails to get out of the way of a faster car they may be penalized and a severe breach could even see them disqualified.
A white flag indicates that there is a slow-moving vehicle on the track, such as a retiring car, an ambulance or a tow truck.