2007 F1 Regulations

Key Regulations for the 2007 Season

Formula One is governed by strict rules and regulations from car design to on-track behaviours. We've extracted the most important rules and regulations affecting the season ahead from the FIA rule book and laid them out below.

Race Weekend Procedures and Rules

For 2007, the Formula One sporting regulations have been changed in line with the FIA's determination to produce the best spectacle for spectators whilst trying to keep team running costs in check.

There are changes to testing, tyres, engines and the structure of the Grand Prix weekend. Below, we try to explain these simply. If you need more detail or would like a full copy of the regulations, please ask your account manager.

Free Practice

There are two free practice sessions on Friday from 10.00 to 11.30 and from 14.00 to 15.30. There is a further session of free practice from 11.00 to 12.00 on Saturday, which is subject to the two-race engine rule (see below).

Cars

Only 2 cars can be used per session (no third cars are allowed).

Engines

The two-race engine rule now only covers Saturday and Sunday. We can use as many engines as we like on Friday.

Drivers

One extra driver can be run in each Friday session in addition to the two race drivers.

Qualifying Sessions

Qualifying takes place on the day before the race from 14.00 to 15.00 in the following format:

I) From 14.00 to 14.15 all cars are on the track. At the end of this period the slowest six cars will drop out. Only laps completed before the end of the session will count (like it was at the start of the 06 season). The lap times of the 16 remaining cars are deleted.

II) From 14.20 to 14.35 the 16 remaining cars are on the track and the above procedure repeats with six cars dropping out and the lap times of the 10 remaining cars being deleted.

III) From 14.40 to 14:55 the 10 remaining cars are on the track, fighting it out for the top ten places on the grid. If in the opinion of the stewards, a driver deliberately stops on the circuit or impedes another driver in any way during the qualifying practice session his times are cancelled.

The Grid

At the end of qualifying, drivers' times are officially published and the grid drawn up as follows:

I) The last six positions are taken by the cars eliminated during the first period of qualifying, the fastest in 16th position.

II) The next six positions are taken by the cars eliminated during the second period of qualifying, the fastest in 11th position.

III) The top ten positions are taken by the cars that took part in the third period of qualifying, the fastest from pole position.

If two or more drivers set identical times during any one of the three periods of qualifying, priority is given to the one who set it first.

If more than one driver fails to set a time during any one of the three periods of qualifying they are arranged in the following order:

I. any driver who attempted to set a qualifying time by starting a flying lap ;

II. any driver who failed to start a flying lap ;

III. any driver who failed to leave the pits during the period;

The grid is published four hours before the race. Any competitor whose car is unable to start for any reason must inform the stewards at the earliest opportunity and in any event, no later than one hour before the start of the race. If one or more cars are withdrawn the grid is closed up accordingly. The final starting grid is published one hour before the start of the race.

Post Qualifying Parc Fermé

Parc fermé conditions apply from the time each car leaves the pit lane for the first period of qualifying until the green lights come on at the start of the formation lap immediately prior to the start of the race.

Starting Procedure

30 minutes before the start of the formation lap the cars leave the pit lane to do a reconnaissance lap. At the end of this lap they stop on the grid in starting order with their engines stopped.

Cars can cover more than one reconnaissance lap but they have to drive down the pit lane to avoid the grid on each of these laps. Any car which has not taken up its position on the grid by the time the five-minute signal is shown will not be allowed to do so and must start from the pit lane.

17 minutes before the start of the formation lap, a warning signal is given to indicate that the end of the pit lane will be closed in two minutes.

15 minutes before the start of the formation lap the end of the pit lane is closed and a second warning signal is given. Any car still in the pit lane can start from the end of the pit lane provided it got there under its own power. If more than one car is affected they line up in the order in which they reached the end of the pit lane. These cars can join the race once the whole field has passed the end of the pit lane after the start.

The start is counted down by signals shown ten minutes, five minutes, three minutes, one minute and fifteen seconds before the start of the formation lap. When the ten-minute signal is shown, everybody except drivers, officials and team technical staff must leave the grid.

When the five-minute signal is shown all cars must have their wheels fitted; after this signal wheels may only be removed in the pit lane. Any car which does not have all its wheels fully fitted at the five minute signal has to start the race from the back of the grid or the pit lane.

When the one-minute signal is shown, engines should be started and all team personnel must leave the grid by the time the 15-second signal is given, taking all equipment with them. If any driver needs assistance after the 15-second signal he must raise his arm and, when all other cars have left the grid, marshals are instructed to push the car into the pit lane. There are five green lights over the grid which when lit, send the cars out on the formation lap with the pole position driver leading. If a car stalls on the grid but can be re-started there and then, it can re-join the formation lap but must start the race from the back of the grid.

During the formation lap, practice starts are forbidden and the formation must be kept as tight as possible. Overtaking during the formation lap is only allowed if a car is delayed when leaving its grid position and cars behind cannot avoid passing it without unduly delaying the rest of the field. In this case, drivers may only overtake to re-establish the original starting order.

When the cars come back to the grid at the end of the formation lap, they stop on their respective grid. The starting signal is the same five lights mentioned above, activated by the permanent starter. Once all the cars have come to a halt the five second light will appear followed by the four, three, two and one second lights. At any time after the one-second light appears, the race is started by extinguishing all red lights. Unless specifically authorised by the FIA, only two people from each team are allowed by the pit wall at the start, plus officials and fire marshals.

Any car that is unable to cannot maintain starting order during the formation lap or is moving when the one-second light comes on must enter the pit lane and start from the end of the pit lane. This doesn't apply to any car which is temporarily delayed during the lap and which is able to regain its position, without endangering itself or any other car, before the leading car has taken up its position on the grid.

The Race

Team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited.

During the race, drivers leaving the pit lane can only do so when the light at the end of the pit lane is green and on their own responsibility, a marshal with a blue flag or a flashing blue light will warn the driver if cars are approaching on the track.

Safety Car

The FIA safety car is driven by an experienced circuit driver and carries an FIA observer capable of recognising all the cars, who is in permanent radio contact with race control.

30 minutes before the race start time the safety car will park at the front of the grid and stay there until the five-minute signal is given. At this point, it will drive a whole lap of the circuit and enter the pit lane. The safety car may be brought into operation to neutralise a race upon the decision of the clerk of the course. It is used only if drivers or officials are in immediate physical danger but where the circumstances are not severe enough to stop the race. When the order is given to deploy the safety car, all observers' posts display waved yellow flags and a board reading "SC" which remains until the intervention is over.

From this time any car being driven too slowly and which is deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers, is reported to the stewards. This applies to cars being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pit lane.

The safety car will start from the pit lane with its orange lights on and will join the track regardless of where the race leader is. All cars must then form up in line behind the safety car no more than 5 car lengths apart. Overtaking, with the following exceptions, is forbidden until the cars reach the line after the safety car has returned to the pits. Overtaking is only allowed under the following circumstances:

I. if a car is signalled to do so from the safety car;

II. when all cars are lined up behind the safety car, lapped cars in between cars on the lead lap are allowed to pass the safety car so that they do not obstruct cars on the lead lap at the restart;

III. when the safety car is returning to the pits it may be overtaken by cars on the track once it has crossed the first safety car line;

IV. if any car slows with an obvious problem.

When ordered to do so by the clerk of the course the observer in the car will use a green light to signal to any cars between it and the race leader that they should pass. These cars will continue at reduced speed Once behind the safety car, the race leader must keep within 5 car lengths of it and all remaining cars must keep the formation as tight as possible.

While the safety car is in operation, cars can enter the pit lane, but not until all the cars are in line behind the safety car. Infringing cars are given a 10 second stop-go penalty. They may only rejoin the track when the green light at the end of the pit lane is on, which is at all times except when the safety car and the line of cars following it are about to pass or are passing the pit exit.

Under certain circumstances the clerk of the course may ask the safety car to use the pit lane. In these cases, and provided its orange lights remain illuminated, all cars follow through the pit lane without overtaking. Cars entering the pit lane under these circumstances may stop at their garage areas.

When the clerk of the course calls in the safety car, it turns off its orange lights to signal to the drivers that it is entering the pit lane at the end of that lap. At this point the first car in line behind the safety car can dictate the pace and if necessary, fall more than five car lengths behind it. As the safety car is approaching the pit entry the yellow flags and SC boards at the observer's posts are withdrawn and replaced by waved green flags with green lights at the line. Laps completed while the safety car is deployed do count as race laps.

If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.

In some (rare) circumstances the race may be started behind the safety car. In this case its lights come on at any time before the one-minute signal that tells the drivers that the race is started behind the safety car. When the green lights are illuminated the safety car will leave the grid with all cars following in grid order no more than 5 car lengths apart. There is no formation lap and race will start when the green lights are illuminated.

Suspending a Race

If the race has to be suspended because the circuit is blocked by an accident or because weather or other conditions make it dangerous to continue, the clerk of the course will order red flags to be shown at all marshal posts and the abort lights to be shown at the start line.

At this point overtaking is forbidden, the pit exit is closed and all cars drive slowly to the red flag line where they stop in staggered formation. If the leading car on the track is not at the front of the line any cars between it and the red flag line are waved off to complete another lap one minute before the race is resumed.

If any cars are unable to return to the grid because the track is blocked they are brought back when the track is cleared and arranged in the order they were before the race was suspended. They are allowed to resume the race when it restarts. The Safety Car is driven to the front of the line of cars behind the red flag line. Whilst the race is suspended:

- neither the race nor the timekeeping system will stop;

- cars may be worked on once they have stopped behind the red flag line or entered the pits but this work must not impede the resumption of the race;

- refuelling is forbidden unless a car was already in the pit entry or pit lane when the signal to suspend the race was given;

- only team members and officials are permitted on the grid.

Cars may enter the pit lane when the race is suspended but incur a drive through penalty for doing so, unless they were already in the pit lane when the race was suspended. All cars in the pit lane can leave the pits once the race has been resumed.

Under these circumstances working in the fast lane is permitted but any such work is restricted to:

- starting the engine and any directly associated preparation;

- the fitting or removal of cooling and heating devices;

- changing wheels when a change of climatic conditions has been confirmed;

At all times drivers must follow the directions of the marshals.

Tyre Use and Allocation

Each team is given 4 sets of prime and 4 sets of option tyres for Friday, which cannot be used after Friday. Each driver can use a maximum of 2 sets of primes and 2 sets of options.

Each race driver is given 5 sets of prime and 5 sets of option tyres for use on Saturday and Sunday. After Practice 3 on Saturday, 1 set of prime and 1 set of option tyres must be returned to Bridgestone and cannot be used after that. Any of the remaining 8 sets of tyres can be used in qualifying.

Provided the race is dry throughout, each driver must use at least one set of prime tyres and one set of option tyres during the race.

Prior to the start of the qualifying session, wet and extreme-weather tyres can only be used after the track has been declared wet by the race director, after which any tyres may be used for the remainder of the session. w.

Spare Cars and Engines

A team can use several cars for practice and the race provided that:

a) it has no more than three cars available for use at any one time;

b) it uses no more than two cars for each practice session. A car is deemed to have been used once the timing transponder has shown that it has left the pit lane;

c) all the cars are of the same make and were entered in the Championship by the same team;

d) all the cars have been scrutineered in accordance with the Sporting Regulations;

e) each car carries its driver's race number.

Any driver who decides to use another race car or a spare car following the qualifying session must start the race from the pit lane. In these circumstances no restrictions on fuel load are applied and tyres can be changed. A change of car is deemed to have taken place once a driver is seated in his new car; this can only take place in the team's garage area. Drivers cannot change cars after the start of the race.

Each driver should use one engine for two consecutive races in which his team competes. This rule covers only Saturday and Sunday running. Engines are free from this rule on Fridays.

Should an engine change be carried out before the end of the qualifying session any drivers concerned will drop ten places on the starting grid at that race for each change that takes place. Unless the driver fails to finish the race (see below) the engine fitted to the car at the end of the race must remain in the car until the end of the next race. Any driver who fails to finish the first race of a two-race pair for reasons beyond the control of the team or driver, may start the second with a different engine without penalty.

If a driver is replaced after the first race of a two-race pair, having finished the first race, the replacement driver must use the engine that was used for the first race.

If an engine is changed after the qualifying session at either of the two races, any drivers concerned have to start the relevant race from the back of the grid.

After consultation with the relevant engine supplier the FIA will attach seals to each engine in order to ensure that no significant moving parts can be rebuilt or replaced. Following the first of the two races and within two hours of the end of the post race parc fermé, further seals are applied in order to ensure that the engine cannot be run until the second race. These seals are removed at 09.00 on the day of initial scrutineering at the second race.

Other than the straightforward replacement of one engine unit with another, a change will also be deemed to have taken place if any of the FIA seals are damaged or removed from the original engine after it has been used for the first time.

Refuelling

Refuelling is allowed only in the pit lane at the team's designated garage area. Fuel may not be added to nor removed from any car eligible to take part in the third period of qualifying during that period. At any time between the end of qualifying and one hour and thirty minutes before the start of the formation lap fuel used during the third period of qualifying may be replaced.

Other than a fuel breather and an external fuel pressurising device for starting the engine (in which case only fuel on board the car may be used for running the engine), no connection can be made to the fuel system during the third qualifying period.

If a race is suspended refuelling is forbidden unless a car is already in the pit entry or pit lane when the signal to stop is given.

Race refuelling systems may not be used during or immediately after any practice session. Whilst being used during the race all team personnel working on the car must wear clothing that will protect all parts of their body from fire. Each competitor must ensure that an assistant with a fire extinguisher is beside the car throughout all refuelling operations.