This is an accepted version of this page
109-529: The Lotus E20 is a Formula One racing car designed and produced by the Enstone -based Lotus F1 Team for the 2012 Formula One season . The chassis was designed by James Allison , Naoki Tokunaga , Martin Tolliday and Dirk de Beer with Renault continuing to supply engines. The E20 was the twentieth Formula One car to be designed at Enstone since 1992, and was named in tribute to the contribution made by
218-486: A rev limiter . The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) believed that allowing some teams to have such technical freedom would have created a 'two-tier' championship, and thus requested urgent talks with the FIA. But talks broke down and FOTA teams announced, with the exception of Williams and Force India , that 'they had no choice' but to form a breakaway championship series . On 24 June, Formula One's governing body and
327-627: A ban on ground-effect aerodynamics during 1983 . But by then, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977 , were producing over 520 kW (700 bhp) and were essential to be competitive. By 1986 , a BMW turbocharged engine achieved a flash reading of 5.5 bar (80 psi) pressure, estimated to be over 970 kW (1,300 bhp) in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix . The next year, power in race trim reached around 820 kW (1,100 bhp), with boost pressure limited to only 4.0 bar. These cars were
436-469: A driver's fastest lap in that period (barring infractions) counts. Any timed lap started before the end of that period may be completed and will count toward that driver's placement. The number of cars eliminated in each period is dependent on the total number of cars entered into the championship. Currently, with 20 cars, Q1 runs for 18 minutes, and eliminates the slowest five drivers. During this period, any driver whose best lap takes longer than 107% of
545-482: A guerrilla war with a very long-term aim in view". FOCA threatened to establish a rival series and boycotted a Grand Prix, and FISA withdrew its sanction from races. The result was the 1981 Concorde Agreement , which guaranteed technical stability, as teams were to be given reasonable notice of new regulations. Although FISA asserted its right to the TV revenues, it gave FOCA the administration of those rights. FISA imposed
654-404: A management buyout to become Brawn GP , with Ross Brawn and Nick Fry running and owning the majority of the organisation. Brawn GP laid off hundreds of employees, but won the year's world championships. BMW F1 was bought out by the original founder of the team, Peter Sauber . The Lotus F1 Team was another, formerly manufacturer-owned team that reverted to "privateer" ownership, together with
763-468: A new Concorde Agreement committing them to the sport until 2025, including a $ 145 million budget cap for car development to support equal competition and sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the sport to adapt to budgetary and logistical limitations. A significant overhaul of the technical regulations intended to be introduced in the 2021 season was pushed back to 2022, with constructors instead using their 2020 chassis for two seasons and
872-530: A number of Grand Prix racing organisations made suggestions for a new championship to replace the European Championship, but due to the suspension of racing during the conflict, the new International Formula for cars did not become formalised until 1946, to become effective in 1947. The new World Championship was instituted to commence in 1950 . The first world championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix , took place at Silverstone Circuit in
981-404: A partnership with Lego , with the first new sets releasing in 2025. The regulations governing Formula One are set to be revised for the 2026 season, with big changes planned to help encourage closer and more competitive racing. Changes include: In November 2024, General Motors reached an agreement to enter Formula 1 in 2026 with its Cadillac brand. A Formula One Grand Prix event spans
1090-652: A podium finish was lost when Grosjean spun early in the race and a clutch problem held Räikkönen during his one and only pit stop. Räikkönen and Grosjean went on to finish in sixth and seventh places respectively, while Lewis Hamilton's race win put third place in the World Constructors' Championship out of Lotus's reach. The team scored just a single point at the final race of the season in Brazil, when Räikkönen finished tenth. Grosjean spun out and crashed heavily early on in difficult conditions, while Räikkönen made
1199-430: A poor tyre choice and fell down the order. He was later running as high as sixth, but lost a considerable amount of time in a bizarre incident where he left the circuit and attempted to re-join using the support paddock pit lane, only to find that the way was blocked, which forced him to turn around and re-join the circuit another way. He recovered to eleventh, which became tenth when Paul di Resta crashed out two laps from
SECTION 10
#17327729496281308-470: A press release stating it had been informed it was not entered for the 2010 season, and an FIA press release said the FOTA representatives had walked out of the meeting. On 1 August, it was announced FIA and FOTA had signed a new Concorde Agreement, bringing an end to the crisis and securing the sport's future until 2012. To compensate for the loss of manufacturer teams, four new teams were accepted entry into
1417-516: A reason to impose rule changes that otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams—most notably the changes introduced for 1998 . This so-called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall, and the introduction of grooved tyres to reduce mechanical grip. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and produce racing similar to rainy conditions by enforcing
1526-434: A season (13, since beaten by Max Verstappen ), and most Drivers' Championships (seven, tied with Lewis Hamilton as of 2021). Schumacher's championship streak ended on 25 September 2005, when Renault driver Fernando Alonso became Formula One's youngest champion at that time (until Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and followed by Sebastian Vettel in 2010 ). During 2006, Renault and Alonso won both titles again. Schumacher retired at
1635-413: A series of races, known as Grands Prix . Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed roads. A point-system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for the drivers , and one for the constructors (the teams). Each driver must hold a valid Super Licence , the highest class of racing licence the FIA issues, and
1744-442: A smaller contact patch between tyre and track. According to the FIA, this was to reduce cornering speeds in the interest of safety. Results were mixed, as the lack of mechanical grip resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip. This resulted in pushing more force onto the tyres through wings and aerodynamic devices, which in turn resulted in less overtaking, as these devices tended to make
1853-496: A terminal electrical fault that forced him out of the race. Räikkönen held onto the position for the remainder of the race despite a late challenge from Fernando Alonso , finally winning Lotus ' first race in 2012 six months after it had been predicted. Romain Grosjean , on the other hand, was involved in early contact that forced him to pit to repair damage. He recovered to fifth, but retired when Sergio Pérez veered sharply onto
1962-427: A token system limiting which parts could be modified introduced. The start of the 2020 season was delayed by several months, and both it and 2021 seasons were subject to several postponements, cancellations, and rescheduling of races due to shifting restrictions on international travel. Many races took place behind closed doors and with only essential personnel present to maintain social distancing . In 2022,
2071-477: A two-year absence. The car made its competitive debut at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix , and in the twenty races of the 2012 season, recorded a race win in Abu Dhabi and nine podium finishes to finish fourth overall in the World Constructors' Championship . The Lotus E20 was planned to feature a "reactive ride height" suspension system — a mechanical device designed to maintain ride height under braking — at
2180-403: A weekend. It typically begins with two free practice sessions on Friday, and one free practice session on Saturday. Additional drivers (commonly known as third drivers ) are allowed to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to give up their seat. A qualifying session is held after the last free practice session. This session determines the starting order for
2289-399: A world championship race. It entered the 1961 British Grand Prix , the only front-engined car to compete that year. During 1962 , Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium-sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space-frame design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968 , sponsorship was introduced to
SECTION 20
#17327729496282398-559: Is allocated one set of the softest tyres for use in Q3. The cars that qualify for Q3 must return them after Q3; the cars that do not qualify for Q3 can use them during the race. As of 2022, all drivers are given a free choice of tyre to use at the start of the Grand Prix, whereas in previous years only the drivers that did not participate in Q3 had free tyre choice for the start of the race. Any penalties that affect grid position are applied at
2507-505: Is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of racing since its inaugural running in 1950 . The word formula in the name refers to the set of rules all participants' cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of
2616-434: The 1955 Le Mans disaster . The first major technological development in the sport was Bugatti 's introduction of mid-engined cars. Jack Brabham , the world champion in 1959 , 1960 , and 1966 , soon proved the mid-engine's superiority over all other engine positions. By 1961 all teams had switched to mid-engined cars. The Ferguson P99 , a four-wheel drive design, was the last front-engined Formula One car to enter
2725-457: The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix . Other changes included the qualifying format, the point-scoring system, the technical regulations, and rules specifying how long engines and tyres must last. A 'tyre war' between suppliers Michelin and Bridgestone saw lap times fall, although, at the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, seven out of ten teams did not race when their Michelin tyres were deemed unsafe for use, leading to Bridgestone becoming
2834-459: The 2007 World Champion finished third, with Grosjean fourth. The team's fortunes came crashing back down to earth in Monaco when Grosjean was at the centre of a first-lap accident that put himself, Maldonado, Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa out of the race. Räikkönen, meanwhile, struggled after losing valuable track time during Friday practice, as he was unhappy with parts introduced onto
2943-403: The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix , where Jules Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle after aquaplaning off the circuit, dying nine months later from his injuries. Since 1994, three track marshals have died, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix , one at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix and one at the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix . Since Senna's and Ratzenberger's deaths, the FIA has used safety as
3052-425: The 2017 and 2018 seasons featured a title battle between Mercedes and Ferrari. Mercedes ultimately won the titles with multiple races to spare and continued to dominate in the next two years, eventually winning seven consecutive Drivers' Championships from 2014 to 2020 and eight consecutive Constructors' titles from 2014 to 2021. During this eight-year period between 2014 and 2021, a Mercedes driver won 111 of
3161-603: The Alfa Romeo name, Sauber introduced a title partnership with the online casino Stake.com , resulting in the team's new identity as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber . Sauber will hold Stake's sponsorship name until the end of 2025, after which it will become the Audi works team for the 2026 season onwards. Scuderia AlphaTauri , Red Bull's junior team, dropped its name and took on sponsors from Hugo Boss and Cash App, becoming Visa Cash App RB, or VCARB for 2024. Formula One announced
3270-500: The Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA), the manufacturers negotiated a larger share of Formula One's commercial profit and a greater say in the running of the sport. In 2008 and 2009, Honda , BMW , and Toyota all withdrew from Formula One racing within a year, blaming the economic recession . This resulted in the end of manufacturer dominance of the sport. The Honda F1 team went through
3379-710: The Imperial Tobacco 's Gold Leaf livery at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix . Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design with the appearance of aerofoils during the 1968 season. The wings were introduced by Lotus's owner Colin Chapman who installed modest front wings and a rear spoiler on his Lotus 49 B at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix . In the late 1970s, Lotus introduced ground-effect aerodynamics, previously used on Jim Hall 's Chaparral 2J in 1970, that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds. The aerodynamic forces pressing
Lotus E20 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-403: The Italian Grand Prix , the team drafted their testing and reserve driver, Jérôme d'Ambrosio , to drive car #10 for the race. D'Ambrosio qualified sixteenth and took advantage of high-profile retirements for Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button to finish thirteenth, the last car to be classified on the lead lap. Räikkönen had a quiet race, starting fifth and finishing seventh. Grosjean returned to
3597-531: The Jaguar Racing team, new manufacturer-owned teams entered Formula One for the first time since Alfa Romeo's and Renault's departures in 1985. By 2006, the manufacturer teams—Renault, BMW , Toyota , Honda, and Ferrari—dominated the championship, taking five of the first six places in the Constructors' Championship. The exception was McLaren, which at the time was part-owned by Mercedes-Benz. Through
3706-505: The World Manufacturers' Championship ( 1925 – 1930 ) and European Drivers' Championship ( 1931 – 1939 ). The formula is a set of rules that all participants' cars must follow. Formula One was a formula agreed upon in 1946 to officially become effective in 1947 . The first Grand Prix in accordance with the new regulations was the 1946 Turin Grand Prix , anticipating the formula's official start. Before World War II ,
3815-409: The 'sprint shootout'; such a system made its debut at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and is set to be used throughout all sprint sessions in place of the traditional second free practice session. Sprint qualifying sessions are run much shorter than traditional qualifying, and each session required teams to fit new tyres - mediums for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3 - otherwise they cannot participate in
3924-585: The 160 races, with Hamilton winning 81 of these and taking six Drivers' Championships during this period to equal Schumacher's record of seven titles. In 2021 , the Honda-powered Red Bull team began to seriously challenge Mercedes, with Verstappen beating Hamilton to the Drivers' Championship after a season-long battle that saw the pair exchange the championship lead multiple times. This era has seen an increase in car manufacturer presence in
4033-538: The 2010 season ahead of a much anticipated 'cost-cap'. Entrants included a reborn Team Lotus —led by a Malaysian consortium including Tony Fernandes , the boss of Air Asia ; Hispania Racing —the first Spanish Formula One team; and Virgin Racing — Richard Branson 's entry into the series following a successful partnership with Brawn the year before. They were also joined by the US F1 Team , which planned to run out of
4142-561: The 2010 season, Mercedes-Benz reentered the sport as a manufacturer after it purchased Brawn GP and split with McLaren after 15 seasons with the team. During the 2009 season, Formula One was gripped by the FIA–FOTA dispute . FIA President Max Mosley proposed numerous cost-cutting measures for the next season, including an optional budget cap for the teams; teams electing to take the budget cap would be granted greater technical freedom, adjustable front and rear wings, and an engine not subject to
4251-532: The 2012-specification of cars and the low-downforce nature of the Monza circuit — which meant that any gain a double-DRS system had to offer would be negated — prompted the team to delay The Device's introduction even further, naming the Japanese Grand Prix in early October as their planned point of introduction. The team used the double-DRS system as planned during Friday practice, but shelved it until
4360-523: The Coandă effect at the same time. The Lotus E20 showed its potential early in the season when Romain Grosjean qualified third for the Australian Grand Prix . However, the team would go on to experience a difficult season in which they never quite made the most of the car's potential, let down by poor race management and frequent entanglements in on-track incidents. Despite predictions that
4469-494: The F1 governing body announced a major rule and car design change intended to promote closer racing through the use of ground effects , new aerodynamics, larger wheels with low-profile tyres, and redesigned nose and wing regulations. Red Bull emerged as the dominant force after the rule shakeup. The 2022 and 2023 Constructors' and Drivers' Championships were won by Red Bull and Verstappen, with multiple races to spare. In 2023
Lotus E20 - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-481: The FIA opened applications for new teams to enter Formula 1 in the then near future. Of the teams that applied, only Andretti were approved by the FIA, with them then being rejected by Formula One Management , though they have launched an appeal. In early 2024, the Formula One landscape underwent a significant change in the sphere of team sponsorships and collaborations. Having competed for five seasons under
4687-689: The Frenchman as dangerous to himself and others. Both cars finished in the points once more at the Korean Grand Prix , with Räikkönen and Grosjean finishing where they started in fifth and seventh place, but the team lost further ground to Red Bull Racing and Ferrari in the World Constructors' Championship. The team scored another double points finish two weeks later in India , with Räikkönen finishing seventh — having spent much of
4796-650: The UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Promoters held non-championship Formula One events for many years. Due to the increasing cost of competition, the last of these was held in 1983. This era featured teams managed by road-car manufacturers, such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati . The first seasons featured prewar cars like Alfa Romeo's 158 , which were front-engined , with narrow tyres and 1.5-litre supercharged or 4.5-litre naturally aspirated engines. The 1952 and 1953 seasons were run to Formula Two regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over
4905-524: The United Kingdom on 13 May 1950. Giuseppe Farina , competing for Alfa Romeo , won the first Drivers' World Championship, narrowly defeating his teammate Juan Manuel Fangio . Fangio won the championship in 1951 , 1954 , 1955 , 1956 , and 1957 . This set the record for the most World Championships won by a single driver, a record that stood for 46 years until Michael Schumacher won his sixth championship in 2003. A Constructors' Championship
5014-557: The United States as the only non-European-based team in the sport. Financial issues befell the squad before they even made the grid. Despite the entry of these new teams, the proposed cost-cap was repealed and these teams—which did not have the budgets of the midfield and top-order teams—ran around at the back of the field until they collapsed; HRT in 2012, Caterham (formerly Lotus) in 2014 and Manor (formerly Virgin, then Marussia), having survived falling into administration in 2014, at
5123-418: The approval of the FIA, who reversed their position one week later ruling that such systems were in breach of their regulations, on the grounds that the primary function of such a device was improve the aerodynamic performance of cars, and was therefore in violation of Article 3.15 of the technical regulations, which states that "any device that influences the car's aerodynamics must remain immobile in relation to
5232-406: The average annual cost of running a team—designing, building, and maintaining cars, pay, transport—at approximately £220,000,000 (or $ 265,000,000), Formula One's financial and political battles are widely reported. The Formula One Group is owned by Liberty Media , which acquired it in 2017 from private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners for £6.4 billion ($ 8 billion). Formula One originated from
5341-867: The ban on driver aids was in name only, as they "proved difficult to police effectively". The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997. On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Brabham was also competitive during the early 1980s, winning two Drivers' Championships with Nelson Piquet . Powered by Porsche , Honda , and Mercedes-Benz , McLaren won 16 championships (seven constructors' and nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford , Honda, and Renault to also win 16 titles (nine constructors' and seven drivers'). The rivalry between racers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus during 1988 and continued until Prost retired at
5450-636: The buy-out of the Renault team by Genii Capital investors. But a link with its previous owners still survived, with its car continuing to be powered by a Renault engine until 2014. McLaren also announced that it was to reacquire the shares in its team from Mercedes-Benz (McLaren's partnership with Mercedes was reported to have started to sour with the McLaren Mercedes SLR road car project and tough F1 championships, which included McLaren being found guilty of spying on Ferrari ). Hence, during
5559-594: The car for the race. He qualified eighth and went on to finish the race ninth. The team's poor form in Monaco proved to be an exception, rather than the rule, as Grosjean went on to finish the Canadian Grand Prix in second place after race leaders Alonso and Vettel fell victim to the ultra-sensitive Pirelli tyres; Grosjean later admitted that he had not thought a podium was possible until he found himself running second with three laps left to run. Räikkönen, on
SECTION 50
#17327729496285668-711: The car in Singapore , and once again out-qualified Räikkönen, starting eighth while his team-mate could do no better than twelfth. In the race it was Räikkönen who performed better, finishing sixth, a second ahead of Grosjean. Despite not having won a race by this point, Räikkönen remained in championship contention, sitting in third place, forty-five points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso. While Alonso's nearest rival, Sebastian Vettel, would make significant in-roads into Alonso's championship lead in Japan , Räikkönen went on to finish sixth after making contact with Alonso during
5777-418: The car to guide the flow of exhaust gases, creating a low-pressure area over the car's diffuser. The team had previously considered launching the car with a Coandă-effect system, but opted to start the season with a conventional exhaust layout as they felt it was more important to start the season with a car that they knew was competitive rather than attempt to understand both the car and the complex properties of
5886-403: The cars to the track were up to five times the car's weight. As a result, extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant ride height , leaving the suspension virtually solid. This meant that the drivers depended entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities of the road surface. Beginning in the 1970s, Bernie Ecclestone rearranged
5995-476: The circuit after being forced off by Paul di Resta . Pérez and Grosjean made contact, pushing Grosjean into the path of Mark Webber , and the two retired with collision damage. The team were unable to continue their winning form in the United States ; despite Räikkönen's surprise at a strong qualifying performance when both he and Grosjean had struggled for grip throughout free practice, any potential for
6104-409: The circuit at the start, clipping Lewis Hamilton and being launched into Alonso and Sergio Pérez . The violent nature of the accident led to the stewards handing down a one-race ban for Grosjean. Räikkönen salvaged what he could to finish third, but expressed disappointment with the result given his previous achievements at the circuit , including four wins in five starts. With Grosjean forced to miss
6213-532: The circuit. Grosjean, meanwhile, finished eighteenth, a lap behind race winner Alonso. The team bounced back once again in Hungary , with Grosjean qualifying on the front row and finishing third after the team managed to find a strategy for Räikkönen that saw him steal second place away from his team-mate. Disaster struck in Belgium . Romain Grosjean was once again involved in a first-lap incident when he cut across
6322-456: The dearth of Formula One cars. When a new Formula One formula for engines limited to 2.5 litres was reinstated for the 1954 world championship, Mercedes-Benz introduced its W196 , which featured things never seen on Formula One cars before, such as desmodromic valves , fuel injection , and enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes drivers won the championship for the next two years, before the team withdrew from all motorsport competitions due to
6431-509: The double-DRS device and paving the way for Lotus to introduce their own version of it. Two days after the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix , the teams unanimously agreed to ban the use of double-DRS systems for the 2013 season . Nevertheless, Lotus continued their development of a double-DRS system, which they referred to as "The Device", and anticipated its introduction at the Belgian Grand Prix , one month later. However, heavy rain in
6540-409: The end of 1993 . Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello . The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also died in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver died of injuries sustained on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car for 20 years until
6649-541: The end of 2006 after 16 years in Formula One, but came out of retirement for the 2010 season, racing for the newly formed Mercedes works team, following the rebrand of Brawn GP . During this period, FIA frequently changed the championship rules with the intention of improving the on-track action and cutting costs. Team orders , legal since the championship started during 1950, were banned during 2002, after several incidents in which teams openly manipulated race results, generating negative publicity, most famously by Ferrari at
SECTION 60
#17327729496286758-439: The end of 2016. A major rule shakeup in 2014 saw the 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 engines replaced by 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid power units. This prompted Honda to return to the sport in 2015 as the championship's fourth power unit manufacturer. Mercedes emerged as the dominant force after the rule shakeup, with Lewis Hamilton winning the championship closely followed by his main rival and teammate, Nico Rosberg , with
6867-490: The end of qualifying. Grid penalties can be applied for driving infractions in the previous or current Grand Prix, or for changing a gearbox or engine component. If a car fails scrutineering, the driver will be excluded from qualifying but will be allowed to start the race from the back of the grid at the race stewards' discretion. 2021 saw the trialling of a 'sprint qualifying' race on the Saturday of three race weekends, with
6976-600: The end of the race. Like the previous season's car, the E20 sported a black and gold livery adopted by the John Player Special Lotus cars from the early 1970s to mid-1980s. The team celebrated its 500th race entry in Monaco, and the team unveiled a special livery inspired by Angry Birds , and partnered with alternative rock band Linkin Park at the same event to promote an iPad application. The team promoted
7085-520: The end of the season and in spite its extensive development programme, "The Device" was never raced. However, the concept was carried over to the Lotus E20's successor, the E21 , with the team pledging to continue development throughout the 2013 season . The system was finally raced for the first time at the 2013 British Grand Prix , when it was fitted on Kimi Räikkönen's car; the team opted not to use it on
7194-582: The facility and its personnel in their twenty-year history. The car was also the first from Enstone to carry the Lotus name, since the team ceased using the Renault name following their renaming from Lotus Renault GP at the end of 2011. The car, which was launched by the team on its website on 5 February 2012, was driven by 2007 World Drivers' Champion Kimi Räikkönen and reigning GP2 Series champion Romain Grosjean , both of whom returned to Formula One after
7303-466: The fastest getting first place on the grid, referred to as pole position . From 1996 to 2002, the format was a one-hour shootout. This approach lasted until the end of 2002 before the rules were changed again because the teams were not running in the early part of the session to take advantage of better track conditions later on. Grids were generally limited to 26 cars – if the race had more entries, qualification would also decide which drivers would start
7412-511: The fastest time in Q1 will not be allowed to start the race without permission from the stewards. Otherwise, all drivers proceed to the race albeit in the worst starting positions. This rule does not affect drivers in Q2 or Q3. In Q2, the 15 remaining drivers have 15 minutes to set one of the ten fastest times and proceed to the next period. Finally, Q3 lasts 12 minutes and sees the remaining ten drivers decide
7521-489: The first ten grid positions. At the beginning of the 2016 Formula 1 season, the FIA introduced a new qualifying format, whereby drivers were knocked out every 90 seconds after a certain amount of time had passed in each session. The aim was to mix up grid positions for the race, but due to unpopularity, the FIA reverted to the above qualifying format for the Chinese GP, after running the format for only two races. Each car
7630-555: The first two practice sessions at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit delayed The Device's introduction. The team's plans were further put on hold after Romain Grosjean was banned from taking part in the Italian Grand Prix for his role in a multi-car pile-up at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. Grosjean was replaced by the team's testing and reserve driver, Jérôme d'Ambrosio , but d'Ambrosio's inexperience with
7739-507: The front wing, cancelling out the downforce generated by the front wing with the intention of increasing stability in high-speed corners. Lotus initially opposed the system, and filed a formal protest as they believed it to be a moveable aerodynamic device and therefore in violation of Article 3.15 of the sport's technical regulations, the same Article under which the E20's reactive ride-height system had been challenged. The FIA ultimately rejected Lotus's protest, allowing Mercedes to continue using
7848-475: The intention of testing the new approach to qualifying. The traditional qualifying would determine the starting order for the sprint, and the result of the sprint would then determine the start order for the Grand Prix. The system returned for the 2022 season, now titled the 'sprint'. From 2023, sprint races no longer impacted the start order for the main race, which would be determined by traditional qualifying. Sprints would have their own qualifying session, titled
7957-545: The lead over the course of the race, and while neither managed to catch the reigning World Champion, it was an encouraging sign for team, and one that they would back up at the next race in Spain , with Räikkönen scoring his second consecutive podium after attempting a daring strategy in which he tried to force race winner Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso to drive beyond the life expectancy of their tyres. Räikkönen ran out of laps before Maldonado and Alonso ran out of grip, and
8066-491: The leaders for pace all race long. Both drivers struggled in qualifying for the German Grand Prix , with Räikkönen starting tenth after being caught out by heavy rain in the middle of the session, and Grosjean managing no better than fifteenth. Räikkönen, however, recovered in the race to finish fourth, inheriting a podium when Sebastian Vettel was given a twenty-second post-race penalty for passing Jenson Button off
8175-565: The management of Formula One's commercial rights; he is widely credited with transforming the sport into the multibillion-dollar business it now is. When Ecclestone bought the Brabham team during 1971, he gained a seat on the Formula One Constructors' Association , and in 1978, he became its president. Previously, the circuit owners controlled the income of the teams and negotiated with each individually; Ecclestone persuaded
8284-509: The most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 , and boost pressures in 1988 , before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989 . The development of electronic driver aids began in the 1980s. Lotus began to develop a system of active suspension , which first appeared during 1983 on the Lotus 92 . By 1987, this system had been perfected and
8393-407: The mounting of the upper front wishbone on the rear suspension arm. Grosjean had been testing the chassis designated E20-02 at the time; the chassis E20-01 was returned to the team's Enstone facility following completion of testing at Jerez. Upon discovering the problem, Lotus initially prepared chassis E20-01 to be transported to Barcelona to complete the test, but simulations revealed that the problem
8502-578: The movie The Dark Knight Rises at the British Grand Prix . The team promoted the game Angry Birds Star Wars at the United States Grand Prix . The car featured in the music video Dangerous by Sam Martin and David Guetta . ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of
8611-494: The other hand, missed out on a spot in the top ten on the grid, and so had to work his way up from twelfth to eighth. Grosjean was in contention for his maiden race win in Valencia after an alternator failure forced race leader Sebastian Vettel to retire. Grosjean kept pace with new race leader Fernando Alonso, only to fall victim to the same alternator failure seven laps later. Räikkönen, meanwhile, took advantage of this to finish
8720-456: The problem at the time, but speculation within the media suggested the problem was related to the front suspension and that the problem presented itself at the Circuit de Catalunya because of the higher lateral loads placed on the chassis at the circuit than those experienced at Jerez. James Allison , the team's technical director, later confirmed that the team had identified the problem as being
8829-477: The race distance. The E20 was run in the Renault R.S.17 livery for demonstration laps by Robert Kubica throughout 2017. Aseel Al-Hamad completed a celebratory lap in the E20 car ahead of the 2018 French Grand Prix . The car was also run in 2022 in the Alpine A522 livery for demonstration laps by Al-Hamad and Abbi Pulling . Formula One Formula One , commonly known as Formula 1 or F1 ,
8938-644: The race from seventeenth place, made the best of a bad situation to finish the race seventh. The team fared little better in the next race in Malaysia ; both Grosjean and Räikkönen qualified comfortably inside the top ten, but Grosjean made contact with Michael Schumacher on the first lap and slipped down the order before spinning off, while Räikkönen was given a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change and had to fight to recover to fifth. The team's troubles continued in China ; once again, both drivers qualified inside
9047-426: The race on Sunday. Each driver may use no more than thirteen sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of intermediate tyres, and three sets of wet-weather tyres during a race weekend. For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have one or more sessions in which to set their fastest time, with the grid order determined by each driver's best single lap, with
9156-474: The race second behind Alonso. The British Grand Prix proved disappointing for Lotus, with Grosjean spinning off during qualifying and Räikkönen struggling with the wet conditions. In the race, Grosjean made contact with Paul di Resta on the first lap; di Resta retired, while Grosjean was forced to pit for a new front wing, shuffling him back down the order to twenty-third. He later recovered to finish sixth behind Räikkönen, both drivers having struggled to match
9265-447: The race stuck behind Felipe Massa — and Grosjean climbing from eleventh to finish ninth overall. Räikkönen would later claim that a podium finish was possible, but mistakes made during the final free practice session and qualifying cost him dearly. One week later in Abu Dhabi , Räikkönen picked up two positions off the start line to be second as the cars began their first lap, inheriting the lead when Lewis Hamilton 's McLaren developed
9374-461: The race. During the early 1990s, the number of entries was so high that the worst-performing teams had to enter a pre-qualifying session, with the fastest cars allowed through to the main qualifying session. The qualifying format began to change in the early 2000s, with the FIA experimenting with limiting the number of laps, determining the aggregate time over two sessions, and allowing each driver only one qualifying lap. The current qualifying system
9483-662: The races must be held on grade one tracks , the highest grade rating the FIA issues for tracks. Formula One cars are the world's fastest regulated road-course racing cars , owing to very high cornering speeds achieved by generating large amounts of aerodynamic downforce , much of which is generated by front and rear wings. The cars depend on electronics, aerodynamics , suspension , and tyres . Traction control , launch control , and automatic shifting , and other electronic driving aids were first banned in 1994 . They were briefly reintroduced in 2001 , and have more recently been banned since 2004 and 2008 , respectively. With
9592-459: The session. The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground). The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to warm up to increase traction and grip, and also gives
9701-403: The sister car of Romain Grosjean so as to evaluate its performance relative to the older specification of car. With the double-DRS "Device" shelved for the foreseeable future, the team instead turned their attention to the exhaust, introducing a Coandă-effect system for the Korean Grand Prix . The system, also used by McLaren and Ferrari , used the curved shape of the bodywork at the rear of
9810-406: The sole tyre supplier to Formula One for the 2007 season by default. On 20 December 2007 Bridgestone signed a contract that officially made it the exclusive tyre supplier for the next three seasons. During 2006, Max Mosley outlined a 'green' future for Formula One, in which efficient use of energy would be an important factor. Starting in 2000, with Ford's purchase of Stewart Grand Prix to form
9919-487: The sport . Team Gunston became the first team to run cigarette sponsorship on its Brabham cars, which privately entered in orange, brown and gold colours of Gunston cigarettes in the 1968 South African Grand Prix on 1 January 1968. Five months later, the first works team , Lotus, initially using the British racing green , followed this example when it entered its cars painted in the red, gold, and white colours of
10028-663: The sport. After Honda's return as an engine manufacturer in 2015, Renault came back as a team in 2016 after buying back the Lotus F1 team. In 2018, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo became Red Bull and Sauber's title sponsors, respectively. Sauber was rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2019 season, while Racing Point part-owner Lawrence Stroll bought a stake in Aston Martin to rebrand the Racing Point team as Aston Martin for 2021. In August 2020, all ten F1 teams signed
10137-477: The sprung part of the car". The teams were notified of the FIA's decision on 20 January 2012, and as a consequence, the reactive ride height system did not feature on 2012 cars. The team was forced to withdraw from the second pre-season test in Barcelona when Romain Grosjean complained about a "strange" feeling in the chassis while driving on the opening morning of the test. The team gave no official diagnosis of
10246-457: The start of the 2012 season. Lotus (and formerly both their immediate predecessors, Lotus Renault GP and Renault F1 Team ) had been developing the system since January 2010. The system used hydraulic cylinders located in the brake calipers and suspension push-rods to make minute adjustments to the ride height of the car, thereby keeping the ride height at an optimal level throughout the race and providing stability during braking. This initially had
10355-535: The start that forced the Ferrari driver out of the race. Grosjean, on the other hand, was once again caught up in a first-corner melee, making contact with Mark Webber and earning a ten-second stop-go penalty for his troubles, the harshest in-race penalty available to the race stewards. With eight first-lap incidents from fourteen starts to his name in 2012 alone, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner opined that Lotus "needed to control" Grosjean, describing
10464-479: The surface of the wing to "stall" it, thereby cancelling out all downforce and drag running over the wing, allowing the car to achieve a higher top speed. The system developed by Mercedes was reported to create an F-duct effect over the front wing when the Drag Reduction System (DRS) flap in the rear wing opened. Opening the flap would expose two vents, which channeled air back through the car and over
10573-485: The team winning 16 out of the 19 races that season. The team continued this form in the next two seasons, again winning 16 races in 2015 before taking a record 19 wins in 2016 , with Hamilton claiming the title in the former year and Rosberg winning it in the latter by five points. The 2016 season also saw a new team, Haas , join the grid, while Max Verstappen became the youngest-ever race winner at age 18 in Spain . After revised aerodynamic regulations were introduced,
10682-512: The team would be competing for race wins — if not the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships' — as early as April, the team would remain winless by October. Grosjean's strong performance in qualifying for the race in Australia came to nothing when he made contact with Pastor Maldonado on the second lap and retired on the spot. Kimi Räikkönen , who had struggled in qualifying and started
10791-507: The teams reached an agreement to prevent a breakaway series. It was agreed teams must cut spending to the level of the early 1990s within two years; exact figures were not specified, and Max Mosley agreed he would not stand for reelection to the FIA presidency in October. Following further disagreements, after Mosley suggested he would stand for reelection, FOTA made it clear that breakaway plans were still being pursued. On 8 July, FOTA issued
10900-600: The teams to "hunt as a pack" through FOCA. He offered Formula One to circuit owners as a package they could take or leave. In return for the package, almost all that was required was to surrender trackside advertising. The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA–FOCA war , during which FISA and its president Jean-Marie Balestre argued repeatedly with FOCA over television revenues and technical regulations. The Guardian said that Ecclestone and Max Mosley "used [FOCA] to wage
11009-672: The technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One increased dramatically, thus increasing financial burdens. This, combined with the dominance of four teams (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive but to stay in business. This effectively forced several teams to withdraw. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari won five consecutive Drivers' Championships (2000–2004) and six consecutive Constructors' Championships (1999–2004). Schumacher set many new records, including those for Grand Prix wins (91, since beaten by Lewis Hamilton ), wins in
11118-476: The third round of Young Driver Tests in November after being unhappy with their progress. Kimi Räikkönen admitted that using the system made finding the proper setup for the car much more difficult than without it. By comparison, Red Bull Racing introduced their own variant on the system at the Singapore and Japanese Grands Prix, which was credited with aiding Sebastian Vettel in securing two race wins. By
11227-436: The top ten, but Räikkönen's race was compromised by poor tyre management and he lost eleven positions in a single lap. Grosjean, on the other hand, managed a clean race and was rewarded with his first points in Formula One. The Bahrain Grand Prix represented a breakthrough for the team, with both Räikkönen and Grosjean finishing the race on the podium behind race winner Sebastian Vettel . Both drivers had challenged Vettel for
11336-478: The track as well. Drivers from McLaren , Williams , Renault (formerly Benetton ), and Ferrari , dubbed the "Big Four", won every World Championship from 1984 to 2008 . The teams won every Constructors' Championship from 1979 to 2008 , as well as placing themselves as the top four teams in the Constructors' Championship in every season between 1989 and 1997 , and winning every race but one (the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix ) between 1988 and 1997 . Due to
11445-425: The wake behind the car turbulent or 'dirty'. This prevented other cars from following closely due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound to be able to hold the grooved tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure, as the harder compound could not grip
11554-532: Was added in the 1958 season . Stirling Moss , despite being regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the 1950s and 1960s, never won the Formula One championship. Between 1955 and 1961, Moss finished second in the championship four times and third the other three times. Fangio won 24 of the 52 races he entered—still the record for the highest Formula One winning percentage by an individual driver. National championships existed in South Africa and
11663-525: Was adopted in the 2006 season. Known as "knock-out" qualifying, it is split into three periods, known as Q1, Q2, and Q3. In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to attempt to advance to the next period, with the slowest drivers being "knocked out" of qualification (but not necessarily the race) at the end of the period and their grid positions set within the rearmost five based on their best lap times. Drivers are allowed as many laps as they wish within each period. After each period, all times are reset, and only
11772-545: Was also present on E20-01, and so the team decided to withdraw from the remainder of the test with immediate effect. The problem was then corrected in time for the team to start the season . The Lotus E20 was one of the only cars on the 2012 grid to use a version of the "double- DRS " system used by Mercedes on the rear wing of the W03 chassis . The wing used the F-duct concept developed by McLaren in 2010 , which blew air across
11881-545: Was driven to victory by Ayrton Senna in the Monaco Grand Prix that year. In the early 1990s, other teams followed suit and semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control were a natural progression. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining races' outcomes more than driver skill, banned many such aids for the 1994 season. This resulted in cars that previously depended on electronic aids becoming very "twitchy" and difficult to drive. Observers felt
#627372