The Weird F1 Rules You Might Not Know Exist

Being an FIA championship, F1 has a hefty rule typesetting to follow. There are the obvious things in place to make sure teams don’t trickery as well as safety precautions, but there’s increasingly than meets the eye. From the colour of the carpet on the podium to how many cars are too many cars on the grid, there’s a rule for scrutinizingly everything.

RULES ABOUT THE DRIVERS

Throughout the season, a team is unliable to use four variegated drivers if they need to. There are moreover not unliable to be increasingly than two cars by each competitor, so there’s no endangerment of Red Bull or Mercedes sneaking in a third car to help them get those nuts-and-bolts championship points.

There is moreover a rule that no increasingly than 26 cars can be admitted to the championship. We had 12 teams, with 24 cars on the grid, from the 2010-2012 F1 season, but nowadays, it’s just 20. The last time F1 had a 26-car grid was for the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix.

If there aren’t unbearable cars for an event, the FIA might moreover cancel it. The Sporting Regulations state that if there are fewer than 12 cars available, then the event could be cancelled. We’re guessing that this one was influenced by the nightmare 2005 US Grand Prix when only six cars lined up on the starting grid. Yup, we’re serious.

You’ve moreover got to make sure you’re virtually for the yearly FIA Prize Giving recurrence if you finish the drivers’ championship in the top three!

RULES ABOUT THE LIVERIES

So, liveries. There are strict rules well-nigh these, including that both cars have “substantially the same livery at every event”. Basically, you can’t be doing what BAR did in 1999 when they revealed two completely variegated liveries for the same car during their pre-season launch. They’ve got to be pretty much identical.

If you want to make any “significant” changes to your livery throughout the season, you’ve moreover got to go by the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder and get their agreement. Similar to how McLaren got their Gulf special tried for Monaco this year.

RULES ABOUT THE SCHEDULE

F1 is all well-nigh timing, and that’s the specimen both on and off the track. Overdue the scenes, F1 is run to a tight schedule, and scrutinizingly everything you see is timed to perfection.

On a typical race weekend, not for Sprint Race weekends, two self-ruling practice sessions happen on Friday. They’re both one hour long and have to be separated by at least two and a half hours. Then on Saturday, you’ll have FP3, which is moreover an hour and has to be at least 19 hours without FP2.

These rules had to be unromantic when rescheduling the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend older this year due to Prince Philip’s funeral.

Things like the Thursday Press Conference are moreover timed to be at least twenty-three hours surpassing the start of FP1 on Friday.

Away from the track, F1’s timetable moreover has its limits. The minimum number of events for the championship is eight, with the maximum currently set at 23.

RULES ABOUT THE PODIUM

Podiums are serious business, so much so, we could do a whole variegated vendible on the odd rules and regulations overdue them. The FIA sublease someone known as the “master of ceremonies” who will need to ensure all the pursuit is in place for each race.

Before a suburbanite plane gets to the podium, they need to go via parc ferme. Ideally, parc ferme is immediately unelevated the podium, with uncontrived wangle to the top three finishers and the representative for the winning constructor. There is moreover normally a tomfool lanugo for drivers to nippy out in moments surpassing the podium celebration. These rooms need to be suitably ventilated or have air workout if the temperature is whilom 25°C.

Throughout the process, water with no branding needs to be provided. Three bottles must be at parc ferme, with three spare bottles in the ‘cool lanugo room’ – no other drinks are unliable in these areas. Three towels are moreover given out during this time.

A snifter of champagne (or an alternative) must be placed ready for the drivers on the podium steps. The trophies themselves are moreover laid out on a table on one side of the podium, with marks on the floor to show where the people presenting the silverware should stand.

The trophies need to include the F1 logo, the ‘official name of the event’, where the suburbanite finished, and follow set height requirements and can’t weigh increasingly than 5kg.

They moreover “must be in the form of traditional cups”, but we’ve seen this rule wilting a pearly bit over the last few years.

Although most circuits now have digital flags on the podium, there is a rule that “Olympic Games-style “flat flags” should be used” if needed. As for the carpet, that should be untried or visionless blue.

National anthems need to be played via a “suitable sound system”, so basically not a portable Bluetooth speaker. Once all the presenters and representatives have left the podium, the champagne spraying can begin, and that iconic music can be played.

Which rule did you find the most surprising? Let us know in the comments!