Luci.News

Some useful tips from one girly to another to ensure you’re fully prepared for race week (this week!). Formula 1 isn’t as complicated as your guy friends have led you to believe. In such a male dominated sport we are all in desperate need of more girls in the motorsport world. Rest assured you don’t need to be an expert and suddenly know every aspect of Toto Wolff’s life to be a fan. But, here’s some basics to get thinking about before the 2024 season officially begins. 

Let’s start with the teams. There’s 10 teams in total. Them being: Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, Aston Martin, Alpine, Kick Sauber, Haas F1 Team and RB (yes like Red Bull- it’s owned by the same people!)

Each team has 2 main drivers and occasionally reserves for either marketing purposes or to replace injured teammates. So, let’s meet the drivers of the 2024 season. 

❀ Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez- Red Bull                                          

❀ George Russell & Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes

❀ Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz- Ferrari

❀ Alex Albon & Logan Sargeant- Williams

❀ Oscar Piastri & Lando Norris- Mclaren

❀ Lance Stroll & Fernando Alonso- Aston Martin

❀ Esteban Ocon & Pierre Gasly- Alpine

❀ Valtteri Bottas & Zhou Guanyu- Kick Sauber

❀ Kevin Magnussen & Nico Hulkenberg- Hass 

❀ Daniel Ricciardo & Yuki Tsunoda- RB

But who’s at the helm of each team?

While drivers often steal the limelight, it is the team principals who play a crucial role behind the scenes. These sharp minds are the driving force behind their teams’ success, making critical decisions and managing various aspects to ensure victory on the track. 

Team principals also act as the public face of their teams, representing them in media engagements and meetings – such as those with the governing body.

❀Christian Horner- Red Bull

❀Toto Wolff- Mercedes

❀Fred Vasseur- Ferrari

❀James Vowels- Williams

❀Zak Brown- McLaren

❀Mike Krack- Aston Martin

❀Bruno Famin- Alpine

❀Alessandro Alunni Bravi- Kick Sauber

❀Ayao Komatsu- Hass

❀Laurent Mekies- RB

However the owners of said teams are completely separate from the teams principles. I won’t go into them all because honestly it’s pointless to understand the sport at all. But for example, Aston Martin is owned by Lawrence Stroll (Lance Stroll’s dad of course- talk about nepotism). Stroll previously had ownership over both Williams and Racing Point- both of which his son Lance drove for. 

Evidently whichever team Lawrence decided to own that year guaranteed his son a seat. After all, F1 is a rich man’s sport.

Talking of ‘seats’ this simply refers to a driver having a spot on the team. Despite most gaining their seats either due to talent or experience seats can also be ‘bought’. Yet this isn’t something widely discussed for obvious reasons. 

Seats can be easily lost as they are gained if a ‘better’ driver comes along. Seen most recently through Hamilton’s switch from Mercedes to Ferrari, leaving Sainz without a seat so far for the 2025 season. Although I doubt very much that he will not have a plethora of offers available to him ahead of next year. 

The F1 tyre system is confusing for even the best of us. Let’s break down the different tyres available and the rules that govern their use.Firstly, tyres play a crucial role in F1 strategy. Choosing the right set is a delicate balancing game considering weather, weight, track length and position. 

Soft dry tyres are the quickest and perfect for getting a fast lap but they degrade much quicker than the others. Medium dry tyres are a good middle ground with a mix of durability and speed. With hard dry tyres being the most durable but the slowest due to their lack of grip.

There’s two types of wet tyres. Intermediates which are used in wet to drying conditions and wets that are made for heavier rains that work to protect aquaplaning.

Tyre rules– every driver has to use at least two different compounds in a dry race and each driver gets a set of 13 tyres for a grand prix weekend. After every free practice every driver hands back 1 set of tires, leaving them with 7 sets to last them from qualifying until the end of Sunday’s race. The drivers that make it into the top 10 hand back a further set, leaving them with 6. This in theory gives the bottom 10 drivers a slight advantage.

Sprint races are part of some F1 race weekends. This race is 100 km and drivers don’t have to make pit stops. On a sprint weekend, drivers only have one free practice session. Qualifying takes place on Friday rather than Saturday. Sprint races are simply a way for drivers and teams to grab a few extra points. Drivers must still be careful though, any penalties picked up on a sprint race will carry over to the actual race on Sunday.

Finally, here’s a list of commonly used phrases to wrap your heads around that are often misused.

❀qualifying-sets the grid order for race day

❀tyre compounds– refers to how hard or soft the rubber is

❀undercutting– pitting earlier and setting faster laps on new tires

❀overcutting– staying out of the pits and pushing for a few laps in the hopes they can pit later and still come out ahead

❀pre-season testing- the weekend before the race starts. Its a chance for teams to make sure the cars run as expected

❀aero rake- a big grille attached to the car with sensors to measure air speed, air flow, pressure and temperature

❀flow-vis– a mix of fluorescent paint powder and oil that gets painted onto the car. Engineers check where the paint has been blown to check all aerodynamic parts are working as intended

❀installation lap– the team’s first lap of the day to check the key parts of the car are working

❀sandbagging– deliberately running slower to disguise the cars true performance

❀glory run– sending out the car as light as possible on soft tyres

❀safety car– used to control the speed of the race when there’s an incident on track or bad weather

❀DRS– drag reduction system. A driver controlled system that lets air flow through to decrease resistance. Mostly used for overtaking if the car in front is within less than 1 second in front

❀DRS zones– each track usually has 2 zones in which DRS is allowed

❀DNF– ‘did not finish’. Driver hasn’t completed the race

Remember to make the most out of what’s already looking to be an amazing season. Motorsports isn’t just for the boys! Enjoy chicks!!