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Sporting Regulations
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FIA Rules & Regulations Sporting Regulations
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Practice and qualifying
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At each Grand Prix meeting all race drivers may participate in two one-hour practice sessions on Friday (Thursday at Monaco), another one-hour session on Saturday morning and a qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. Teams who finished fifth or lower in the previous year’s constructors’ championship may run an additional, third driver (see separate section) in Friday’s sessions. 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 15 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 15 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 second 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 the final 15-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.
In the first two 15-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 in the final 15-minute session may only replace the fuel they used during that session before the start of the race.
If a driver is deemed to have stopped unnecessarily on the circuit or impeded another driver during the qualifying session, then his times will be cancelled.
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Published with permission from the Federation Internationale de l' Automobile.
PRACTICE SESSIONS
107) Save where these Sporting Regulations require otherwise, pit lane and track discipline and safety measures will be the same for all practice sessions as for the race.
108) No driver may start in the race without taking part in at least one practice session on the second day of practice.
109) During all practices there will be a green and a red light at the end of the pit lane. Cars may only leave the pit lane when the green light is on. Additionally, a blue flag and/or a flashing blue light will be shown in the pit exit to warn drivers leaving the pit lane if cars are approaching on the track.
110) Unless written permission has been given by the FIA to do otherwise, the circuit may only be used for purposes other than the Event after the last practice session on each day of practice and on the day of the race no less than one hour before the end of the pit lane is opened to allow cars to cover a reconnaissance lap.
111) The interval between the third free practice session and the qualifying practice session may never be less than two hours.
112) In the event of a driving infringement during practice the Stewards may delete any number of the relevant driver's qualifying times. In this case, a team will not be able to appeal against the steward's decision.
113) The clerk of the course may interrupt practice as often and for as long as he thinks necessary to clear the track or to allow the recovery of a car. In the case of free practice only, the clerk of the course with the agreement of the stewards may decline to prolong the practice period after an interruption of this kind.
Should one or more sessions be thus interrupted, no protest can be accepted as to the possible effects of the interruption on the qualification of drivers admitted to start.
FREE PRACTICE
114) Free practice sessions will take place:
a) The day after initial scrutineering from 11.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 15.00.
b) The day before the race from 11.00 to 12.00.
QUALIFYING PRACTICE
115) The qualifying practice session will take place on the day before the race from 14.00 to 15.00.
The session will be run as follows:
a) From 14.00 to 14.15 (Q1) all cars will be permitted on the track and at the end of this period the slowest five cars will be prohibited from taking any further part in the session.
Lap times achieved by the fifteen remaining cars will then be deleted.
b) From 14.22 to 14.37 (Q2) the fifteen remaining cars will be permitted on the track and at the end of this period the slowest five cars will be prohibited from taking any further part in the session.
Lap times achieved by the ten remaining cars will then be deleted.
c) From 14.45 to 15.00 (Q3) the ten remaining cars will be permitted on the track.
The above procedure is based upon a Championship entry of 20 cars. If 22 are entered six cars will be excluded after Q1 and Q2 and, if 24 are entered, six cars will be excluded after Q1 and Q2 leaving 12 cars eligible for Q3.
116) 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 will be cancelled. |
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