A Formula One season is made up of around 17 events and comprises 2 championships. These are the World Drivers Championship and the Constructors Championship. Presently there is a maximum limit of 18 races but this is likely to increase to 20 in the near future.

Each event lasts for 3 days, running from Friday through until Sunday. The exception to this is the Monaco Grand Prix which runs from Thursday until Sunday. The first day allows the drivers time to practice on the tracks. Although there is a time limit on these sessions, there is no restriction on the number of laps a driver may complete. These sessions are called FREE PRACTICE. On the Saturday of the event, the drivers have a FREE PRACTICE session in the morning and at midday the QUALIFYING session begins. On Sunday morning there is another FREE PRACTICE session and in the afternoon the race finally gets underway.

Only 26 drivers may compete in each race. Before a driver can race he must first take part in the QUALIFYING session. Each driver has just 12 laps and 1 hour to set his best time. The 26 fastest drivers will begin the race, providing they set a time faster than 107% of the Pole Position time.

The driver who registers the fastest qualifying time will start from POLE POSITION. This can be on either the left or right side of the track but should give the driver an advantage into the first corner.

At the start of the race, all the cars which qualified take their place on the grid. In Formula One the grid is staggered and there are 2 cars per row across the track.

Before the race begins proper, the cars undertake a FORMATION LAP. This gives drivers the opportunity to get their cars nearer to race temperature, before the grid is reformed. Overtaking on the formation lap is strictly forbidden.

Once the grid has reformed on the grid, the race will begin. The start is governed by 5 red light which illuminate at 1 second intervals and then are extinguished after a computerised pause. Should any driver stall on the grid at this point, the start will be abandoned and the offending driver demoted to the back of the grid. The aborted start is indicated by flashing amber lights above the red start lights which should remain lit.

When the 5 lights go out, the race is underway. Often there are collisions at the first corner which may cause the race to be stopped, or may cause a SAFETY CAR to be mobilised.

When a SAFETY CAR is on track, cars will be signalled to pass until the leader is directly behind the safety car. The other cars will then bunch up behind the leader. During this time, overtaking is forbidden. A safety car may also be used when the track becomes dangerous due to bad weather. When the danger has passed, the safety car will turn out its flashing lights to signal to the race leader that it will leave the track at the end of the current lap. The race leader may now dictate the pace of the following cars. The race resumes when the cars cross the start/finish line and overtaking is not permitted until this point.

Any driver who overtakes while behind a safety car or whilst on an area of track covered by yellow flags may be penalised. Penalties range from STOP/GO PENALTIES (usually a 10 second stop in the drivers own pit) to disqualification. Any driver who deliberately causes an accident may be disqualified and could have a ban imposed for a number of races.

Nowadays, may races are dictated by PITSTOP STRATEGY. Presently, one of the major factors which affects the speed of the cars is the amount of fuel they are carrying. Teams may opt for 1, 2 or 3 stops depending on the circuit although conditions may allow for a race to be completed without a pitstop, or if a team encounters difficulties, more stops may be necessary. A normal pitstop will consist of changing all 4 wheels on the car and refuelling the car and typically last between 7 and 13 seconds depending on whether the team is on a 2 or a 3 stop strategy.

The length of the race should be the least number of laps which cover a distance of 305km (just over 190 miles). However, most races are 1 lap less than this as the FORMATION LAP tends to be included in this distance.

The first driver to complete the decided number of laps will be shown the chequered flag and declared the winner. When subsequent cars pass the chequered flag they will be deemed to have completed the race, even if they have been lapped.

Points are awarded to the first 6 drivers. These points count towards both championships and are allocated as follows.

POSITION	POINTS
1st	10
2nd	6
3rd	4
4th	3
5th	2
6th	1

The first 3 drivers will be presented with trophies on the podium.