Regulations
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A number of changes to both the Sporting and Technical Regulations have been made by the FIA for the 2008 Formula One season, namely:
Traction and Launch Control
Traction control - systems which prevent the rear wheels spinning if a driver applies too much power - are no longer permitted. This will place more emphasis on driver skill and should lead to more overtaking, as drivers are more likely to make mistakes. Similarly, systems that help the driver hold the clutch at a specific point to ensure an optimal getaway at the race start, have been outlawed.
Electronic Control Units (ECUs)
From 2008, all teams must use a standardised, FIA-approved ECU to control their cars' electronics. AS well as providing a more level playing field in this area of development, the new ECU - which must run FIA-approved software - will allow the FIA to monitor the cars' performance more closely.
Engine changes
As in 2007, drivers must use the same engine for two consecutive events. If that engine fails in final practice or qualifying and has to be changed ahead of the race, the driver will be given a grid penalty - 10 places if the change was made before qualifying, or the back of the grid if it was made following qualifying.
However, in an amendment for 2008, each driver is allowed one 'free' change per season, unless that change takes place at the final round. In other words, he will not incur a penalty for his first engine failure of the year, as long it is not at the last event.
Gearboxes
In a bid to further improve reliability and cut costs, gearboxes must now last for four consecutive Grand Prix meetings. Every unscheduled gearbox change will require the relevant driver to drop five places on the grid at that meeting. If a driver fails to finish a race, he may start the next meeting with a new gearbox without incurring a penalty.
Qualifying
In a very slight tweak to the familiar knockout qualifying format, the duration of Q1 has been increased from 15 to 20 minutes, while that of Q3 has been cut from 15 to 10. Q2 remains 15-minutes long. Furthermore, cars participating in Q3 will no longer get back the fuel used in that session - they must now start the race with whatever fuel was left in the car at the end of qualifying, thus eliminating the need for the infamous 'fuel-burning' phase at the start of Q3.
Cockpit safety
One of the slightly more visible differences to the cars this season will be an increase in the height of the cockpit padding - and hence the cockpit sides - on either side of the driver's helmet, a change that has been implemented to further increase head protection in the event of an impact.
Biofuel
As part of moves to make Formula One racing ever more environmentally friendly, the FIA has introduced a new rule governing fuel. From 2008, at least 5.75 percent of all fuel must contain biomatter and, as a result, all cars must be designed to be biofuel compliant.
General Rules and Regulations:
Practice and Qualifying
At each Grand Prix meeting all race drivers may participate in two one and a half-hour practice sessions on Friday (Thursday at Monaco), a one-hour session on Saturday morning and a qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. While individual practice sessions are not compulsory, a driver must take part in at least one Saturday session to be eligible for the race.
Saturday's one-hour qualifying session is split into three distinct parts, each with multiple drivers on track simultaneously, and each with the drivers running as many laps as they want:
Q1: All 22 cars may run laps at any time during the first 20 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 20 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill the final six grid places.
Q2: After a seven-minute break, the times will be reset and the 16 remaining cars then will then run in a 15-minute session - again they may complete as many laps as they want at any time during that period. At the end of the 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill places 11 to 16 on the grid.
Q3: After a further eight-minute break, the times are reset and a final 10-minute session will feature a shootout between the remaining 10 cars to decide pole position and the starting order for the top 10 grid places. Again, these cars may run as many laps as they wish.
If a driver is deemed by the stewards to have stopped unnecessarily on the circuit or impeded another driver during qualifying, his times may be cancelled.
Parc Ferme
Parc ferme is an enclosed and secure area in the paddock where the cars are weighed and any other checks deemed necessary by race officials are made. Teams must leave their cars here from 1830 on Saturday until 0830 on Sunday.
However, the cars are deemed to be under parc ferme conditions for a much longer period - from the time they first exit the pits during qualifying until the start of the formation lap immediately prior to the race.
Under these conditions, the work teams may carry out on their cars is limited to strictly-specified routine procedures, which can only be performed under the watchful eye of the FIA Technical Delegate and race scrutineers. Fuel may be added to the cars (those eligible for the final period of qualifying may only replace what they used in that period), tyres changed and brakes bled. Minor front wing adjustments are also allowed, but little else. These controls mean that teams cannot make significant alterations to the set-up of a car between qualifying and the race.
The only exception to this is when there is a "change in climatic conditions", for example a dry qualifying session followed by a wet race, or vice versa. In this case the FIA will give the teams permission to make further appropriate changes to their cars.
Should a car require an engine change between qualifying and the race, then the driver concerned will be required to start from the back of the grid. Modifications to other parts or suspension set-up will require the driver to start from the pit lane.
Race Start Procedure
Prior to every Grand Prix the teams and drivers must adhere to a very strict starting procedure. This gets underway 30 minutes before the formation lap when the pit lane is opened.
Drivers are then free to complete a reconnaissance lap of the circuit before taking up their grid positions. If a driver wishes to complete additional reconnaissance laps he must pass through the pit lane each time in order to bypass the grid.
The pit lane closes 15 minutes prior to the formation lap. Any drivers still in the pit lane at this time will have to start the race from there.
Ten minutes before the start the grid must be cleared except for team technical staff, race officials and drivers. With three minutes to go all cars must have their wheels fitted (any car not complying will have to start from the back of the grid or the pit lane).
With a minute to go all cars must have their engines running. All personnel must then leave the grid at least 15 seconds before the green lights come on to signal the start of the formation lap.
Any driver who has a problem immediately prior to the green light must raise his arm to indicate this. Once the rest of the field has moved off marshals will be push the car into the pit lane. If the driver restarts the car while being pushed he may rejoin the formation lap.
During the formation lap no practice starts are allowed. Overtaking is also forbidden unless passing a car that has slowed due to a technical problem. Passed cars may in turn re-overtake in order to regain their grid position if the problem is resolved during the course of the formation lap.
However, any driver who is still on the grid when all other cars have moved off on the formation lap, but then subsequently gets away, may not re-pass cars to regain his grid position, but must instead start from the back.
Once all cars have safely taken up their grid positions at the end of the formation lap five red lights will appear in sequence at one-second intervals. These red lights are then extinguished to signal the start of the race.
If a driver has a problem on the grid immediately prior to the start he must raise his arm and the start will be aborted. A new formation lap, which will count towards the race distance, will then be completed.
The only exceptions to these start procedures are connected to the weather. If it starts to rain in the three minutes prior to the start then the abort lights will come on and the starting procedure will revert to the 10-minute point to allow teams to change to appropriate tyres.
If the weather is exceptionally bad the race director may choose to abort the start and resume the starting procedure only when conditions have improved. Alternatively, he may decide to start the race behind the safety car.
Refuelling
During practice, refuelling is only permitted in a team's garage area or in the FIA garage. Race-refuelling systems may only be used in the pit lane during qualifying and the race. The driver may remain in the car and the engine left switched on, unless a system not approved by the FIA is being used. All personnel working on the car must wear protective fire-resistant clothing and an assistant carrying a suitable fire extinguisher must be beside the car during refuelling.
Teams are free to alter their cars' fuel loads at will during practice, the first two stages of qualifying (Q1 and Q2), and the race. However, once qualifying is over teams are forbidden from connecting to the fuel system of any car until the start of the race.
Furthermore, no refuelling is allowed during Q3 - hence drivers participating in that session must start the race with whatever fuel was left in their car at the end of Q3. If a driver makes it through to Q3, but is then unable to compete in the session, his team must inform the FIA immediately of how much fuel they wish to add to the car.
Refuelling when a race has been suspended is forbidden unless a car is already in the pit entry or pit lane.
Safety Car
The safety car's main function, as its name implies, is to assist in maintaining safe track conditions throughout the Grand Prix weekend. It is driven by an experienced circuit driver and carries an FIA observer who is in permanent radio contact with race control.
If an accident or incident occurs that is not severe enough to warrant suspending the race, but which cannot be dealt with under yellow flags, then the safety car will be called on to the circuit to slow the cars down.
It will come on to the circuit with its orange lights on and all drivers must form a queue behind it with no overtaking allowed. The safety car will signal backmarkers to pass by using its green light until the race leader is immediately behind it, followed by the rest of the field in race order. Any lapped car between cars running on the lead lap must pass those cars and the safety car before proceeding slowly around the track to take up their correct position at the back of the pack. No car is permitted to enter the pits until all cars are lined up behind the safety car in race order.
If the incident that brought out the safety car has blocked the pit straight, the clerk of the course may direct the safety car to lead the field through the pit lane. Cars are free to stop at their pit garage should this happen.
When the safety car is ready to leave the circuit it extinguishes its orange lights, indicating to the drivers that it will peel off into the pits at the end of the current lap. The drivers then continue in formation until they cross the start-finish line where green lights will indicate that they are free to race again.
In exceptional circumstances, such as in extremely poor weather, a race may begin behind the safety car, which will put its orange lights on at least a minute before the start to indicate this. When those lights switch to green the safety car will lead the field around the circuit in grid order.
Overtaking on this first lap is not allowed, unless a car has a problem. The safety car will peel into the pits at the end of the lap and drivers are free to race once they have crossed the line to commence the next lap.
All laps completed behind the safety car count as race laps.
Spare cars, engines and gearboxes
FIA regulations state that drivers may have no more than two cars available for use at any one time. Usually a team will bring three or four cars to a race; a race car for each of its two drivers, and one or two spare cars for use by either driver. Use of those spare cars is subject to various restrictions.
If a driver switches car between qualifying and the race then he must start the race from the pit lane. A change of car is not allowed once the race has started.
There are also restrictions on engine and gearbox use. Each driver may use no more than one engine for two consecutive Grand Prix meetings. If an engine change is required ahead of qualifying at either meeting, the driver will drop ten places on the grid for that event. If the change is made after qualifying, the driver goes to the back of the grid. From 2008, a driver will not be penalised the first time he needs a replacement engine during the season, unless it is at the final event of the championship.
Each driver may use no more than one gearbox for four consecutive Grand Prix meetings. Every unscheduled gearbox change will require the driver to drop five places on the grid at that meeting.
If a driver fails to finish a race due to reasons beyond his or his team's control, he may start the next meeting with a new engine and/or gearbox without incurring a penalty.
Suspending and Resuming a Race
If a race is suspended because of an accident or poor track conditions then red flags will be shown around the circuit. When this happens, the pit exit will be closed and all cars on track must proceed slowly to the red flag line without overtaking and then stop in staggered formation with the leading car at the front. Any driver pitting after the red flag signal will be given a drive-through penalty.
The safety car will then be driven to the front of the queue. While the race is suspended team members may come onto the track to work on the cars, but refuelling is not allowed.
Cars that were already in the pits when the red flag signal was given may be worked on there, with refuelling permitted. These cars, and any that enter the pits while the race is suspended, may only rejoin the track once the race has been resumed.
At least a ten minute warning will be given before the race is resumed behind the safety car, which will lead the field for one lap before pulling into the pits. As usual, overtaking behind the safety car is forbidden.
If for whatever reason it is impossible to resume the race, the rules state that "the results will be taken at the end of the penultimate lap before the lap during which the signal to suspend the race was given".
Driver Penalties
Stewards have the power to impose various penalties on a driver if he commits an offence during a race. Offences may include jumping the start, causing an avoidable accident, unfairly blocking another driver, impeding another driver when being lapped, speeding in the pit lane etc.
The two most common types are the drive-through penalty and the ten-second time penalty. In the case of the former, the driver must enter the pits, drive through the pit lane at the pit-lane speed limit and rejoin the race without stopping. Depending on the length of the pit lane this can cost a driver a significant amount of time.
More severe is the ten-second time penalty (also commonly known as a stop-go penalty) where the driver must not only enter the pits, but must also stop for ten seconds at his pit before rejoining the race. During this time the driver's team are not permitted to work on the car.
In extreme cases the stewards may choose to enforce a third type of penalty whereby they can force a driver to drop ten grid positions at the next Grand Prix. So even if the driver in question goes on to qualify in pole position, he will in fact start that race from 11th place.
In the case of the drive-through penalty and the ten-second time penalty, a driver has three laps, from the time his team is notified, to enter the pits (failure to do so may result in a black flag and the driver being excluded from the race).
The only exception is when the penalty is awarded during the final five laps of the race. In this case the driver may continue and complete the race. However, 25 seconds will be added to his total race time, which may drop him considerably in the final race standings.
Scrutineering and Weighing
A team of specially appointed scrutineers has the power to check cars at any point during a Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they fully comply with technical and safety regulations.
Every car is initially examined on the Thursday of a race meeting (Wednesday at Monaco) and a car cannot take part in the event until it has passed scrutineering. A car must be re-examined by scrutineers if any significant changes are made to it by the team or if it is involved in an accident.
In addition to scrutineering, cars are also weighed throughout the Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they comply with minimum weight requirements (currently 600kg including driver, except during qualifying when it is 605kg). During practice and qualifying cars are called in at random to be weighed. After the race every car and driver is weighed.
Any competitor failing to meet the minimum weight may lose their qualifying times or be excluded from the race results unless this is due to the accidental loss of part of the car.
Classification
A commonly asked question is how drivers can be given a placing in the official race results even though they retired before the end of the race. The explanation can be found within the FIA regulations regarding classification.
These state that any driver who completed at least 90 per cent of the race distance will be classified, whether or not he was running when the winner took the chequered flag.
If a race is stopped before the full distance and a result is declared, the classification will reflect the race order at the end of the lap two laps prior to that on which the race was stopped (see 'Suspending and resuming a race'). For example, if a race is stopped on lap 60, the classification will be as it was at the end of lap 58.
Points
The top eight finishers in each Grand Prix score points towards both the drivers' and the constructors' world championships, according to the following scale:
1st place: 10 points
2nd place: 8 points
3rd place: 6 points
4th place: 5 points
5th place: 4 points
6th place: 3 points
7th place: 2 points
8th place: 1 point
(The only exception to this is when a race is suspended and cannot be restarted. If less than 75 per cent of the race distance has been completed half points are awarded, and if less than two laps have been completed, no points are awarded.)
For example, if in a given race Jenson Button finishes third for Honda and team mate Rubens Barrichello fifth, then Button and Barrichello score six and four points respectively towards the drivers' championship, while Honda score ten points (six plus four) towards the constructors' championship.
The driver with the most points at the end of the season is declared drivers' champion. Similarly the constructor with the most points is declared constructors' champion.
In the case of a dead heat for a championship place then the driver or team with the higher number of superior race results will be awarded the place. For example, if McLaren and Renault finish the season top of the table on equal points, then the team with the most race wins will be declared champion.
Driver Changes
Teams may use up to four drivers during a season, all of whom may score points in the championship. A driver change may be made with the permission of the stewards any time before the start of qualifying. The new driver must use the engine and tyres allocated to the original driver.
On top of this, in each of Friday's two practice sessions teams may run additional drivers, though each team is still limited to two cars. Any holder of a Super License may run as an additional driver, but stewards must be informed of a team's plans before the end of initial scrutineering on the Thursday prior to practice.
Testing
As the sport's technical demands have grown in recent years, so too has the importance of testing. With the FIA ever mindful of rising costs, teams are limited to 30,000 test kilometres during a calendar year. Young driver training and promotional events do not count towards this tally.
Testing can only take place at FIA-approved sites and, ahead of a session, teams must inform the governing body of their schedule so that an observer can be appointed if deemed necessary. From 2008, all cars must be fitted with the standardised, FIA-approved Electronic Control Unit during tests.
Tyres
Formula One racing features a single tyre supplier, with all teams using identical Bridgestone rubber. The advantages of this (over multiple tyre suppliers) include closer racing and reduced testing and development costs.
At each Grand Prix every team is given access to two specifications of dry-weather tyre. Unless conditions are wet, drivers must use both specifications during the race. A white groove on the tread of the softer compound allows spectators to distinguish which tyre a driver is on.
Over the race weekend, each driver has access to 14 sets of tyres - seven sets of dry-weather, four sets of wet-weather and three sets of extreme-weather. The dry-weather tyres have four grooves and the spacing and depth of these grooves must conform to strict specifications.
Teams are free to use wet- or extreme-weather tyres as they see fit during qualifying and the race. However, during the preceding practice sessions, they may only be used if the track has been declared wet by the race director. If a race is started behind the safety car due to heavy rain, the use of extreme-weather tyres is compulsory.
All tyres are given a bar code at the start of the weekend so that the FIA can closely monitor their use and ensure that no team is breaking regulations.
