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New to F1 - why is it on most every F1 circuit the S/F line is right off the final corner, whereas in many other forms of motorsport the S/F line is often centered on the straight or even towards the turn 1 end of the straight?

Fernando Alonso is once again feeling unwell ahead of a Grand Prix. For argument's sake, let's say that he's not well on Friday and doesn't take part in the Practice Session and Sprint Qualifying in Interlagos, being replaced by Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich. I assume that he won't be allowed to take place in the Sprint Race Saturday morning because he didn't take place in the Sprint Qualifying. But, if he feels fine in the afternoon, can he participate in the Qualifying session Saturday afternoon or is he forced to sit out of the remainder of the weekend?

Do they step on the gas as soon as the lights go out but are limited to pit lane speeds? Or Do they have to wait until the last car on track has passed a certain point? Are there courses where the pit lane exit is not near the start of the race? If a car starts from the pit lane, how far behind the last car on track will they usually enter the course?

tyre wake and trying to out wash tyre wake is the biggest cause of dirty air on an f1 car. I know that brake cooling might be an issue but we could of surly had fia liquid brake coolers to combat this?

edit: liquid cooled brakes

edit 2: or bigger brake ducts

https://preview.redd.it/0xqelssuaxxd1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=759471f676ddf67abeba9eabee6da5b77f716258

What is the time difference between grid slots? If everyone position was equal machinery and got an identical start, what would the interval be between each driver?

Hi all, Just wondering why the Rb20 is experiencing higher Tyre degradation compared to previous years and hence affecting race pace.

What could be some possible fixes?

Good morning F1Technical!

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I was watching the 2022 Interlagos race highlights and I noticed that until 2022 soft tyres were used A LOT during races, while now majority of the strategies are medium > hard tyres. Is there a specific reason for that?

So, sometimes when they are showing a replay of something happening during eace or qualy, they put that overlay on screen that show the speed, gear, drs end pedals.

The throttle pedal as they show you can always se being pressed progressively, and not always 100% throttle.

However the brake pedal overlay, is alway either 0% or 100%, never seen the brake being released progressively, even if it’s a corner you go from 300 km/h to 70 km/h. Even when the driver do a miner braking mid corner it goes to 100% instantly, and the throttle doesn’t.

So the question is, they don’t show the brake pedal trace correctly on purpose, showing only 0% or 100%, or can the driver really be on 100% braking like that and not lock up the wheels, being way harder to lock up than it actually seams?

So, I know that you're allowed to use 3 engines through the season. Are you allowed to run different setups across the 3 changes you're allowed, or are they technically identical?

Additionally, it's 3 engine changes, so I'm guessing once you swap it out, that setup is dead, you cannot revisit it other than to tear it down and see what is or isn't up. Which would mean you couldn't have 3 setups and just swap between races, having 3 setups set for 8 specific races each and swapping as needed?

I’ve been wondering why F1 still counts the fastest lap times of drivers finishing outside the top 10, especially since they’re not eligible to earn the fastest lap point. Wouldn’t it make more sense to restrict this to just the top 10 drivers, so that the point automatically goes to one of them? It could also reduce situations where drivers in lower positions pit late in the race just to set a fastest lap, since they don’t have anything to lose at that stage. Has F1 ever considered this, or is there a specific reason for including all drivers?

I’ve been noticing in the recent races and have been wondering how that is. Sure, the formula A teams take it in the end, but the fact that the car is momentarily outpacing the rest of the grid. Is it something more with his driving or the car? How rare is this? I.e. Given that the competitiveness is a matter of seconds and milliseconds, are most teams pretty capable of this? Moreso thinking in terms of those reasons, rather than the situational luck and track positioning.

Also, obligatory newbie mention. Started watching F1 last season when Redbull just dominated and there weren’t big shakeups. It’s been exciting!

Hey newer fan here. This season it seems towards the later stages of the race the McLaren becomes the fastest car on the circuit. Curious what all contributes to this? Is it the best on tire ware? Is the car package setup to be optimized when fuel is low? Is it because all the cars are spaced out more and their car really thrives in clean air? Last Lap Lando? All the above? Or something totally different?

I was looking at the stat that said this was the first time since 1981 that six drivers won multiple races, and I got reminded that George Russell was DQed at Spa for his car being underweight. I distinctly remember discussions back then mentioning that Spa didn't have a cooldown lap, so Russell didn't have time to pick up marbling from the track and increase his mass. That makes me wonder, why not weigh the car without that confounding variable? George may still get DQed, but why add that variance?

It seems like it would be relatively quick and easy to slap some tape to cover a hole like in Checo's sidepod today. Or a bigger type of flexible patch on Checo's sidepod in Austria.

Its not like nobody's ever had the idea, so there must be a good reason against doing so, so what is it?

DRS Control

Hey Guys,

On lap 19/20 of the Mexican GP Stroll tried to overtake Perez and shortly before the end of the straight the DRS of Stroll briefly closed and re-opened, before closing again as he breaks for the turn.

Now I was wondering how the driver is able to control the DRS during the race? Did Stroll do this manually or does the DRS maybe close when the driver briefly lifts the gas?

In Eg. Mexico (and a hand full of other tracks)

P2 starts on the inside of Turn1, isn't that the better position to start in despite being a little further back, since all you need to do is stay alongside till the corner and should come out ahead.

I can’t think of the last time a driver has struggled with a stuck throttle (thankfully) and even longer since the last time it caused a full blown accident. Compared to a number of the American series like Indy and NASCAR it seems like it never happens.

What would be the reason? I know things like brake by wire have helped with brake failures but what would the reason be for stuck throttles being rarer.

Or is the correct question why are they so common in the other series?

So Mexico City has about 22% less air density because of it's high altitude. And I am aware that 22% less air density means less drag, less cooling effect, and less downforce.

But my question is, does that affect drivers as well? Less air means less oxygen inhaled so I think drivers might be more fatigued after the race in Mexico City

I'm not sure if this is a 'technical question' but I wanted to know how much it costs to just air the races. Not looking for cost for Broadcasting rights. Just how much it costs to air the broadcast from the track to the broadcasting center, and onwards to the public.

I’m really into the engineering behind f1 cars and have always been intrigued by the different tire compounds and how they work. I’ve tried to find a youtube video on how the different tires have different lifespans and grips but haven’t found anything so far

After George binned it he needed a new chassis. If they replaced the chassis is that essentially saying it's a whole new car? Would it be equivalent to say they built a new car using existing PU and transmission components?

I get that the circuit is not used year around and since the circuit is in the city there may be dust/debris from the city hustle. But why isn't there an effort to clean the track via street sweeps or run support series say the weekend before or the same week? I feel like with the altitude and cooling issues there is already enough challenges. Why don't F1 make a better effort to make sure the track is ready for these cars?

In the F1 games (and most other racing games that include an F1 car) on the steering wheel dash, there is usually a place where it says what position the driver is in at that point.

However in real F1, drivers seem to not know what position they are in until their engineers tell them - this is most seen in qualifying when engineers tell them what position they are and you can sometimes hear a shock in the drivers voice -

It seems like quite an easy thing to put in place, that also I assume would be useful to the drivers, so why isn't it there?

I was rewatching some old clips and saw the 2021 hungarian gp where lewis couldn’t enter the pits on the restart cause if he did. he would’ve been held up by every other car coming past him. What are the disadvantages to being at the other end of the pits and how much does the winning constructor gain from having this option?

Do you need more air to bring all out of an efficient car or need an efficient car to make the most of the thinner air?

Is a driver linked to their specific car for the entire season? For the weekend? For the race?

For example, last week at COTA after Russell damaged his car so badly that he was required to start from the pits due to repairs, was it technically just the car relegated to pit lane start or both the car and driver as a unit? Could he have taken Hamilton’s car up to start in his qualifying position and let Hamilton use his car from the pits?

Another scenario: the team’s top driver crashes out in FP3 and the car won’t be fixed before Qualifying. Can the driver take his teammate’s car for qualifying?

What if a team decides for whatever reason to switch the cars of their two drivers in between races?

What if a team decides part way through the season that their car is absolute garbage? Can they completely rebuild a new one from scratch? (Cost cap aside)