Racing and strategy

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Main articles: Formula One racing and Formula One regulations
A Formula One Grand Prix event spans an entire 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. 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. After these practice sessions, a qualifying session is held.
The format of this qualifying session has been through several iterations since 2003. Attempts were made to reinvigorate interest in the qualifying session by using a "one-shot" system in which each driver would take turns on an empty track to set their one and only time.
For the 2006 season a knockout qualifying system was introduced, which has continued unchanged for the 2007 season. The FIA revised the 2006 procedures starting with Round 11, the 2006 French Grand Prix.[26] In the first phase, all twenty-two cars are permitted on the track for a fifteen minute qualification session. Only their fastest time will count and drivers may complete as many laps as they wish. In the original format, the clocks were stopped immediately at the end of the session, which meant that drivers on a timed lap did not have their time registered once the fifteen minutes were up. From Round 11, any car running a timed lap at the time of the chequered flag is entitled to complete the lap. The slowest six cars can take no further part in qualifying, these cars will make up the last six grid positions in the order of their times.
The times for the sixteen remaining cars are reset for the next fifteen minute session. In the original format, the clocks were stopped immediately at the end of the session. From Round 11, cars running timed laps at the chequered flag are allowed to complete the lap. The slowest six cars will make up the grid in positions 11 to 16 in the order of their times.
The times for the ten remaining cars will be reset for the next session. The shoot-out session lasted twenty minutes under the original regulations, changed to fifteen minutes from Round 11. For the final period, the cars will be arranged on the grid in positions one to ten in the order of their times. In the first two fifteen minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers must begin the final fifteen minute session with the fuel load on which they plan to start the race. They will be weighed before they leave the pits. Whatever fuel they use in the fifteen minutes may be replaced at the end of the session provided that the laps they complete are all within 110% of their best session time; outlaps (a lap that started in the pitlane) and inlaps (a lap that ended in the pitlane) are permitted to be no more than 120% of the driver's best session time. Any fuel for a lap outside of the 110% time will not be replaced. As with the first two fifteen minute sessions, if a driver starts a timed lap before the chequered flag falls for the fifteen minute session, their time will count even if they cross the finish line after the session has ended.[27]
The race begins with a warm-up formation lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. If a driver stalls before the parade lap, and the rest of the field passes him, then he must start from the back of the grid. As long as he moves off and at least one car is behind him, he can retake his original position. A racer may also elect to start from pit-lane if he has any last minute problems with the car. If they choose to do this, they must wait for all cars to pass pit-lane before they may begin the race.[citation needed]
A light system above the track then signals the start of the race. Races are a little over 305 kilometres (190 miles) long and are limited to two hours, though in practice they usually last about ninety minutes. Throughout the race, drivers may make one or more pit stops in order to refuel and change tyres. For 2007 with Michelin leaving the sport, teams are supplied with tyres solely from Bridgestone. Bridgestone have developed four tyre compounds of which they then select two for the teams to use at a given race event. Drivers must use both tyre compounds during a race which is hoped will bring more excitement to the sport. The softer of the available compounds for the weekend's tyres can be seen with a white ring around one of the grooves on the tyre itself.[citation needed]
When a driver comes round to lap another, the backmarker must move out of the way within a certain number of blue flags waved by the trackside marshals, or face a penalty.
Since 2003, the FIA awards points to the top eight drivers and their respective teams of a grand prix on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis (the race winner receives ten points, the first runner-up eight, and so on). Other points systems have been in operation over the years; before 2003 the points system was 10-6-4-3-2-1. The winner of the two annual championships are the driver and the team who have accumulated the most points at the end of the season. If any drivers and/or teams have the exact amount of points and are both competing for the driver and/or team championships, the driver and/or team who has won more Grand Prix races during the course of the season is declared the winner.

Constructors


The Formula One Drivers' Trophy.
Since 1984 Formula One teams have been required to build the chassis in which they compete, and consequently the terms "team" and "constructor" are more or less interchangeable. This requirement distinguishes the sport from series such as IndyCar Series, Champ Car World Series, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, which allow teams to purchase chassis, and "spec series" such as GP2, which require all cars be kept to an identical specification.
In the 2007 season, for the first time since the 1984 rule, two teams used chassis built by other teams. Super Aguri started the season using a modified Honda Racing's RA106 chassis (used by Honda in the 2006 season), while Toro Rosso used a modified Red Bull Racing RB3 chassis (same as the one used by Red Bull in the 2007 season). Such a decision did not come as a surprise because of spiraling costs and the fact that Super Aguri is partially owned by Honda and Toro Rosso is owned by Red Bull. Formula One team Spyker has raised a complaint against this decision, and other teams such as McLaren and Ferrari have officially confirmed that they support the campaign. The 2006 season could have been the last one in which the terms "team" and "constructor" were truly interchangeable, though the FIA has not made a final decision about this issue and it will most probably be resolved with arbitration proceedings during the 2007 season.[citation needed]
Early manufacturer involvement came in the form of a "factory team" or "works team" (that is, one owned and staffed by a major car company), such as those of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari (Fiat) or Renault. After having virtually disappeared by the early 1980s, factory teams made a comeback in the 1990s and 2000s and now form half the grid with Ferrari (Fiat), BMW, Renault,Toyota and Honda either setting up their own teams or buying out existing ones. Since 1995 Mercedes-Benz owns 40% of the McLaren team and manufactures the team's engines. Factory teams currently make up the top competitive teams; the "Big Four" are considered to be Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Renault (formerly Benetton). These have won every constructors' championship since 1979, and produced title-winning drivers from 1984 to the present. Ferrari, McLaren and Williams make up the "Big Three", each having over 100 race victories to their credit. Williams remains the only major team that is still independently owned.
Companies such as Climax, Repco, Cosworth, Hart, Judd and Supertec, which had no direct team affiliation, often sold engines to teams that could not afford to manufacture them. In the early years independently owned Formula One teams sometimes also built their engines, though this became less common with the increased involvement of major car manufacturers such as BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Toyota, whose large budgets rendered privately built engines less competitive (and redundant). Cosworth was the last independent engine supplier. In 2006 Cosworth sold the Williams team 2.4 litre V-8s and the Scudedria Torro Rosso team detuned V10 engines based on the 2005 units. Beginning in 2007 the manufacturers' deep pockets and engineering ability took over, eliminating the last of the independent engine manufacturers. It is estimated that the big teams spend €100 to €200 million ($125-$250 million) per year per manufacturer on engines alone.[28] [3]
The sport's 1950 debut season saw eighteen teams compete, but due to high costs many dropped out quickly. In fact, such was the scarcity of competitive cars for much of the first decade of Formula One that Formula Two cars were admitted to fill the grids. Ferrari is the only still-active team which competed in 1950, and as of 2006 eleven teams are on the grid, each fielding two cars. Although teams rarely disclose information about their budgets, it is estimated that they range from US$66 million to US$400 million each.[29]
Entering a new team in the Formula One World Championship requires a £25 million (about US$47 million) up-front payment to the FIA, which is then repaid to the team over the course of the season. As a consequence, constructors desiring to enter Formula One often prefer to buy an existing team: B.A.R.'s purchase of Tyrrell and Midland's purchase of Jordan allowed both of these teams to sidestep the large deposit and secure the benefits that the team already had, such as TV revenue.