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127-402: The Force India VJM04 is a Formula One racing car developed by Force India for the 2011 Formula One season , the fourth car the team has made since entering the sport in 2008 . The car was driven by long-time Force India driver Adrian Sutil and 2010 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champion Paul di Resta . The car was launched online on 8 February 2011. The car took the team into 6th in
254-486: 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
381-479: A "One in a Billion Hunt" contest. At the Indian Grand Prix, the team promoted the film Ra.One , featured on the nose cone. ( 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 >90% of the race distance. Formula One Formula One , commonly known as Formula 1 or F1 ,
508-627: 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
635-620: A distant 15th. Sutil took his joint-best result of the season with a sixth-place finish in front of the home crowd in the German Grand Prix . Di Resta endured another difficult weekend as the Briton finished 13th. At the Hungarian Grand Prix , di Resta finally scored points for the first time since Malaysia with a strong seventh-place finish. Teammate Sutil finished outside the points in 14th. The season resumed after
762-469: 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
889-414: A good memory in their mind as this has been a tough year for Japan. This is a special race and a very special crowd. I think we need to thank them for supporting us. But, lastly, it should be Seb that we talk about, as this guy has done a great job this year. However hard we have tried we haven't been able to touch him in a lot of races so congratulations". Button's teammate Hamilton however, did not get such
1016-454: A great son with a great heart. He was the one not allowing me at any stage this year to lose the grip, start to fly, or think about things that are not in our control". Sebastian Vettel , speaking in the FIA press conference upon claiming the championship. The top three finishers appeared on the podium and in the subsequent press conference . Button was delighted to have won in Japan ,
1143-482: 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
1270-519: A lot of points and to fight for the championship. We found ourselves in a very, very strong position and it is great to achieve the goal we set ourselves going into this year already now. There are so many people it is hard to name them all to thank, but I think one person that really stands out this year is the person I spend most of my time with during the year. It's my trainer Tommi Parmakoski. Also, regards to his family. I think back in Finland they have
1397-404: 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
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#17327811433541524-468: 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
1651-530: 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
1778-404: 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
1905-491: A place which was particularly special to him, because his girlfriend Jessica Michibata was born there, and because he had driven for the Japanese Honda team during his career. "It feels like a home win, and it's a very emotional win, not just for myself, but the whole team, and especially my close-knit little team of (trainer) Mikey (Collier), the old man (father John) and (girlfriend) Jessica (Michibata)". Button
2032-475: A positive reception after his race. Martin Brundle criticised the amount of collisions that he was having. Even Hamilton himself described his race as "shocking", before admitting that he was "gobsmacked" by what had happened. Many drivers congratulated Vettel on his second world title, including Jackie Stewart who described Vettel as "the most mature 24-year-old racing driver" he had ever seen. Niki Lauda
2159-470: 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
2286-516: 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
2413-603: A relatively successful day, finishing with both cars on the lead lap for the first time since their debut at Bahrain in 2010 . This completed the most cars on the lead lap of a race ever, in Formula One. Button took his third victory of the season, and fifth consecutive podium, just ahead of Alonso, who was only 1.1 seconds behind Button by the time he took the chequered flag. Vettel became 2011 Drivers' World Champion with four races remaining, by finishing third, taking his fourteenth podium from fifteen races. Vettel also became
2540-434: 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
2667-487: A second; while there was a very similar story at Williams, with Rubens Barrichello in front of Pastor Maldonado on the seventh row. In the dying moments of the session, Kobayashi, Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov all set lap times quick enough to progress into the top ten. This meant that the Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta would have to start eleventh and twelfth respectively. Lewis Hamilton set
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#17327811433542794-413: 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
2921-442: 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
3048-427: 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,
3175-403: 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
3302-399: 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
3429-559: 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
3556-505: 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
3683-434: 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
3810-457: 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
3937-403: 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
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4064-425: 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
4191-603: 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
4318-519: The Force Indias to claim the final points scoring position, overtaking Sutil around Dunlop on the penultimate lap. To worsen Kobayashi's race, he would eventually be taken by both Force Indias too, placing him a lowly thirteenth. Kobayashi's teammate, Sergio Pérez , made great use of a two stop strategy, by saving his tyres coming from seventeenth to eighth on race day. Force India just missed out with eleventh- and twelfth-place finishes. Lotus had
4445-500: 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
4572-710: 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
4699-531: 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
4826-505: 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 ,
4953-409: 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
5080-585: 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
5207-538: 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
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5334-561: 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
5461-495: The 37th time the Japanese Grand Prix had been held. The 53-lap race was won by McLaren 's Jenson Button , after he started from second on the grid. Fernando Alonso finished in second place for Scuderia Ferrari , and Sebastian Vettel completed the podium, with third, for Red Bull Racing . Vettel had started the race in pole position alongside Button, whom he had marginally outqualified. The two drivers were
5588-547: The Constructors' Championship with 69 points by the end of the season. In the season-opening Australian Grand Prix , Sutil finished ninth and di Resta finished in tenth, scoring points in his debut race after the Saubers were disqualified. In the Malaysian Grand Prix , di Resta finished tenth while Sutil finished right behind in 11th, outside the points. In Chinese Grand Prix , di Resta qualified in Q3 for
5715-494: 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
5842-421: 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
5969-660: The Massa-Hamilton collision caused the safety car to emerge on lap 24. Button slowed the pack up on the exit of 130R before restarting. Vettel pitted on lap 34, to begin his final stint on the prime tyres. Within the next three laps Webber, Massa, Hamilton and race leader Button all made their stops, all retaining position. This was until lap 38, when Hamilton overtook Massa in the DRS zone for net fifth place. Heavy traffic had slowed Vettel down on his out-lap, and Alonso moved into net second place after his stop. This left Schumacher in
6096-463: The Saturday practice session, Button was fastest again, by half a second ahead of Hamilton and almost nine tenths ahead of third-placed Vettel. Alonso, Webber and Massa were separated a tenth and a half in fourth, fifth and sixth places. Senna crashed on the exit of Spoon Curve during the session, causing a short red flag period. Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. In
6223-650: 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
6350-524: 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
6477-557: 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
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#17327811433546604-406: 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
6731-867: 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
6858-636: 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
6985-413: The cars left the pits about two minutes before the end of the session; the latest cars to leave being Hamilton, Schumacher and then Mark Webber . Hamilton, possibly not realising he had little time in which to cross the start/finish line, was making a gap to Button in front and changing dials on his steering wheel. As he approached the final chicane, Webber shot up his inside and bolted to try to get across
7112-403: 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
7239-456: 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
7366-409: 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
7493-541: 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
7620-439: 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
7747-434: 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
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#17327811433547874-466: 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
8001-511: 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
8128-452: The fastest time of the session with Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button not far behind. "He [Button] slowed down to get his gap and I was coming up to the last corner, trying to make sure that I had a gap between me and him. It wasn't that big and just as I was coming into the chicane I looked in my mirror and I saw Mark diving up the inside of me, and then I saw… I didn't even see Michael but as I gave Mark room, Michael nearly crashed me on
8255-485: The finish line as Sutil retired on lap 49 due to taking a damage from a battle with Ferrari's Felipe Massa and di Resta retiring on lap 67 due to a puncture. Sutil bounced back at the scorching hot European Grand Prix with a ninth-place finish while di Resta finished in frustrating 14th. The team went scoreless in the British Grand Prix , Sutil missed out with 11th while di Resta finished his home race in
8382-402: The first 20-minute period, cars finishing 18th or lower were eliminated. The second qualifying period lasted 15 minutes, at the end of which the fastest 10 cars went into the final 10-minute period to determine their starting positions for the race. This session was held in dry weather conditions and the ambient temperature was 30 °C (86 °F), while track temperature was higher than any of
8509-489: 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
8636-450: The first time, starting from eighth. Sutil meanwhile, missed out the final shootout with 11th. Unfortuanely, di Resta only managed to finish in 11th, while Sutil finished in 15th during the race. Force India endured a difficult Turkish Grand Prix as neither driver managed to finish in the points. Sutil finished 13th while di Resta had to retire from the race after suffering from a loose wheel. The European and Canadian rounds kicked off with
8763-475: The former started from 11th while the latter started from 12th. The drivers were unable to progress from their starting grid and finished the race in the position they started. Team principal Vijay Mallya was confident that the team could snatch fifth from Renault's hands in the last four rounds. Both drivers made it into Q3, rounding off the fifth row in Korea . It was Di Resta who scored the team's sole points in
8890-464: The hairpin and Spoon corner. Kobayashi was seventh, his highest ever qualifying place, because he had started a flying lap, unlike Schumacher, who lined up eighth on the grid. The two Renaults had also made an attempted to save tyres, and did not leave the garage, starting ninth and tenth. Jenson Button made a better start off the line than Sebastian Vettel , who also had a good start compared to some cars behind him. Button attempted to overtake down
9017-477: The harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound as the softer "option" compound, as opposed to the previous year where Bridgestone brought the silver-banded hard compound as the prime. Just like the race in Singapore, a single DRS (Drag Reduction System) Zone was used in the race. The detection point was located at the exit of the high speed turn 15, better known as 130R, while the DRS activation point
9144-399: The inside, but Vettel covered aggressively and Button lifted off after being half on the grass which allowed Lewis Hamilton to take him down the outside of Turn 1. Button asked his race engineer soon afterwards "He's got to get a penalty for that, hasn't he?". Martin Brundle thought the move was "harsh but not worth a penalty", while Vettel said that he had not seen Button because Button
9271-475: 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
9398-520: The lead, already being on the prime tyres, he had a longer stint before switching to the options at the end. He spent three laps in the lead in total, the first time he had led a race since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix . When he pitted, he had got the undercut on Massa, putting Schumacher into sixth on options and Massa in seventh on primes. Schumacher's pace on the options meant that he initially challenged Hamilton for fifth but later backed off. Vettel began to get closer to Alonso at this stage, diving down
9525-437: The left, so it was… quite dangerous." Lewis Hamilton , commenting on the incident at the final chicane on his out-lap before he didn't manage to start his flying lap in time. At the start of the third session, Kobayashi appeared on the prime tyres, and after setting two sectors of a flying lap he returned to the pits. Hamilton set the initial pace, he was followed by Button, Vettel, Webber and then Felipe Massa . Seven of
9652-414: The line in time – which he did – Hamilton backed off, surprised by what had happened and also by Schumacher cutting straight across the chicane on the outside of him. Both Hamilton and Schumacher crossed the line after the flag had fallen and missed the chance to set a flying lap. Once all the flying laps had been completed, Vettel took his twelfth pole of the season, putting him in a prime position to clinch
9779-565: 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
9906-509: 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
10033-420: The only two within mathematical contention for the title. Button attempted to overtake Vettel at the start of the race, yet was pressured towards the grass by Vettel which resulted in him losing his second position to third-placed starter Lewis Hamilton . Vettel was passed by Button in the second pit-stop phase, and was then passed by Alonso in the third. Hamilton slipped back from second to fifth, predominantly in
10160-575: The outside of Hamilton on the approach to the chicane. Hamilton, seemingly unaware of Massa being there, went to take his normal line, breaking off a small endplate on the Ferrari's front wing. Hamilton blamed his wingmirrors for the contact, saying that they vibrated too much down the straights. Hamilton dived into the pits immediately afterwards, but a bad pit stop lost him more time putting him behind Massa and Webber, who had managed to pass Massa. The awkwardly placed piece of debris that had resulted from
10287-527: The outside of Turn 1 on a couple of occasions. He showed his frustration at having lost two places in the pits and at being unable to regain them when he wildly gesticulated after a Virgin got in his way whilst chasing Alonso. Throughout the final eight laps, Vettel was reminded by the team that he did not need to win the race, to win the Championship in Japan so he held position, as did teammate Webber who
10414-521: The pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid for the race start. 2011 Japanese Grand Prix Sunny and dry The 2011 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the 2011 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix ) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 9 October 2011 at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka , Japan . It was the fifteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and
10541-478: The pit-stops; debris from a collision between himself and Felipe Massa caused a safety car period in the race. The second Red Bull of Mark Webber finished in fourth position. As a consequence of the race, Vettel secured the World Drivers' Championship for the second year in succession, having only required one point prior to the weekend to be declared World Champion. Button remained in second place on
10668-414: The practice sessions at 36 °C (97 °F). In the first qualifying session, Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi topped the timesheets to the delight of his local fans. He along with many other drivers had decided to use the soft compound tyres to elevate themselves into the second session. Red Bull Racing , McLaren and Ferrari along with Michael Schumacher had used the medium compound tyres to get into
10795-426: 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
10922-529: The race weekend, it was announced that Button had signed a new multi-year deal with McLaren after recent rumours surrounding his future. Button wore a special helmet for the weekend which featured a design in the style of the Japanese flag; he was to auction the helmet off afterwards to raise money for those caught in unfortunate circumstances during the times of the tsunami earlier that year. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its white-banded medium compound tyre as
11049-477: The race while Sutil retired with a hydraulics issue. Both cars made it into Q3 in Singapore , with Sutil starting from ninth and di Resta from tenth due to the team being content enough not to send the drivers out for the final shootout. The team went on to score their first double points-finish of the season with di Resta achieving career-best sixth and Sutil in eighth. Sutil outqualified di Resta in Japan as
11176-478: The race with tenth-place finish while Sutil ended the afternoon outside the points by finishing 11th. During the team's home race at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix , Sutil finished ninth after having a battle with his teammate midway through the race. Di Resta finished the race in 13th. Force India entered the penultimate round in Yas Marina with a good form after both drivers made it into Q3. What follows
11303-461: 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
11430-662: 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
11557-401: The rest of the session. At the end of the session, whilst trying to set the fastest time, Sebastian Vettel crashed his Red Bull Racing at Degner. He finished the session in third position behind the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton ; Button on top by a tenth of a second. Vettel's teammate Mark Webber eventually finished the session fifth, behind Fernando Alonso . During
11684-489: The restart, Sutil eventually finished seventh, while di Resta had to settle for 12th after receiving a drive-through penalty for a mistimed pass on Toro Rosso 's Jaime Alguersuari . The team was set for another points finish with di Resta qualified in 11th and Sutil in 14th for the Canadian Grand Prix . Both drivers had to serve their respective drive-through penalties during the race, neither cars made it to
11811-471: The scoreless Spanish Grand Prix , di Resta started from 16th and finished 12th ahead of Sutil finishing right behind. The team returned to scoring ways in the Monaco Grand Prix . Sutil was running fourth at some point. However, on lap 72, contact with Pastor Maldonado and the wall triggered an incident in which Jaime Alguersuari and Vitaly Petrov crashed and the race was red-flagged. After
11938-436: The second part. Schumacher's Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg failed to set a lap time because of a hydraulics failure, and would start the race from twenty-third. It was the first time in 2011 that Rosberg had failed to make the final session. He would be joined on the back row by HRT driver Vitantonio Liuzzi – who also experienced technical problems. Liuzzi's teammate, Daniel Ricciardo , would start twenty-second behind
12065-427: The second time each on lap 20, a 10.3 second gap only just ensured that Vettel left the pits as soon as Webber began to enter them. The good pace and low tyre-degradation of the McLaren proved quite useful for Button, as he took the net lead on the next lap after making his pit-stop, leaving Vettel a second behind him. Also on this lap, Hamilton and Massa made contact for the fourth time in 2011 , after Massa went down
12192-406: The session, Nico Hülkenberg filled in at Force India for Adrian Sutil , and Karun Chandhok filled in for Heikki Kovalainen at Lotus . The second free practice session was held in an air temperature of 23 °C (73 °F), and track temperature of 37 °C (99 °F). Button again topped the timesheets ahead of Alonso and Vettel. Bruno Senna and Kamui Kobayashi both spun during
12319-445: The session, but both drivers rejoined. Rubens Barrichello was less fortunate, as he crashed at the first Degner curve, having run wide on entry. He was later joined on the sidelines by teammate Maldonado, as his car ground to a halt, also at Degner. After the session, Hamilton, Michael Schumacher , Sébastien Buemi , Kovalainen and Senna were called before the stewards for ignoring yellow warning flags, but no penalties were given. In
12446-459: 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
12573-406: 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
12700-487: 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
12827-508: The sport's youngest double World Champion. He led the championship on 309 points, 124 ahead of Button, with only 125 still available. Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber may have been out of the Championship hunt, but were both within 3 points of Button, on 184 and 182 respectively. Lewis Hamilton occupied fifth spot on 168 points. Red Bull led the Constructors' Championship with 491 points, ahead of McLaren on 353, with Ferrari no longer in Championship contention after Singapore . Prior to
12954-663: 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
13081-470: The standings after his victory, extending the gap over third-placed Alonso to eight points. In the World Constructors' Championship , Red Bull's championship lead over McLaren was cut to 130 points, with Ferrari a further 96 points behind in third position. Sebastian Vettel entered the race knowing that either a points finish or Jenson Button 's failure to win, would see him crowned
13208-589: The summer break with the Belgian Grand Prix . Sutil took a strong seventh-place finish for the first race of the second half of the season. Di Resta took damage after Timo Glock made contact in the middle stages, however, di Resta recovered from his poor qualifying session to finish 11th. In Italy , the team was on course for a points-finish contention with di Resta lining up from 11th after being beaten to Q3 by Renault 's Bruno Senna . Sutil qualified right behind di Resta in 12th. Di Resta took eighth in
13335-417: The sweet spot of his career – he has become like a fine wine". "It gives us, as a team, a lot of motivation. It is good, as Sebastian said, to see three different cars within, I think, about three seconds. It shows how competitive Formula One is at the moment. There are a lot of fans here. They are so supportive of the sport that we are in and I think we have all tried to do a little bit to help them, to plant
13462-433: The team believed to be a right-rear puncture (judging by their telemetry) at the time, before later discovering it was just heavy degradation. Hamilton attempted to compensate for the puncture by slowing through 130R before pitting and changing to the option tyres. The other front runners pitted within the next couple of laps, with Vettel remaining in the lead after the first pit-stop phase. Both Red Bulls pitted together for
13589-536: 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,
13716-789: The team. Sahara India Pariwar was added ahead from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before signing the deal as their title sponsor. The team paid tribute to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami at the Australian Grand Prix. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the team paid tribute to the Indian cricket team that won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 . At the Turkish Grand Prix, Whyte & Mackay was replaced with
13843-507: 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
13970-600: 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
14097-672: 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
14224-443: The ten points scoring positions. "To win the championship here is fantastic. There are so many things you want to say at this moment but it's hard to remember all of them. I am just so thankful to everyone in the team. We have got so many people here at the track but also at Milton Keynes working day in day out. Not only Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but also Monday to Friday, every day, pushing hard to build those two cars and to fight for
14351-428: The title the following day. The only other championship contender, Button, lined up second on the grid, 0.009 seconds off Vettel's time, his first front row start since the Monaco Grand Prix . Hamilton was third, while Massa out-qualified teammate Fernando Alonso for only the third time in 2011 . Behind the two Ferraris was Webber in sixth place, who was disappointed after making an error in not opening his DRS between
14478-478: 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
14605-408: The two Lotuses and then the two Virgins , where Heikki Kovalainen and Jérôme d'Ambrosio outqualified their respective teammates. Every driver used the option tyres in the second session apart from Pérez, who was prevented from setting a flying lap with a problem similar to Rosberg's. The Toro Rossos occupied the row in front of him, Sébastien Buemi ahead of Jaime Alguersuari by two tenths of
14732-425: 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
14859-438: The youngest double World Champion, and one of only nine drivers in the sport's history to successfully defend their title. Mark Webber's solid fourth place, only 8 seconds off the lead, ensured that Red Bull Racing had already amassed more points than in their previous year's World title with 518 points. Hamilton finished fifth for the second race in a row, followed by Schumacher, Massa, Pérez, Petrov and Rosberg, who completed
14986-437: Was 30m after the turn 18. Hence, the DRS was activated from the final turn down the start/finish straight up to turn 1. 1980 World Champion, Alan Jones , was the drivers' representative on the steward's panel for the weekend. Three practice sessions were held before the race on Sunday; the first two were held on Friday, and ran from 10:00 to 11:30, and 14:00 to 15:30 local time, respectively. The third free practice session
15113-532: 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
15240-525: 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
15367-432: Was also highly complimentary of Vettel, going as far as to say that he was capable of breaking Michael Schumacher 's record of seven world titles. Damon Hill however, had the opposite view, describing Vettel's chances of beating the record as "very unlikely". He did, however, praise Vettel's abilities. Although, Vettel and Button were not the only ones receiving praise, Adrian Newey , Red Bull's chief technical officer,
15494-447: Was behind him. Meanwhile, home favourite Kamui Kobayashi lost his seventh-place qualifying slot, slipping to twelfth when his anti-stall kicked in at the start. Conversely, Paul di Resta made a good start to take eighth place. Lap 6 saw Fernando Alonso take Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa into Turn 1, for fourth place; Massa made no attempt to defend the position. Hamilton was overtaken by Button on lap 9, after developing what
15621-478: 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
15748-404: Was held on Saturday morning, before qualifying, from 10:30 until 11:30. The first free practice session was held under clear skies and bright sunlight kept Suzuka with a steady track temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) and air temperature of 22 °C (72 °F). Pastor Maldonado skidded off the track during the session, rejoined but later parked his car in an escape road, missing out on
15875-418: Was in fourth. A large battle for the final points scoring positions began on lap 46, when Adrian Sutil went down the inside of 130R to pass Kobayashi for ninth. Teammate di Resta was falling back on worn out tyres though, with Vitaly Petrov taking eleventh from him only a few corners later. Petrov would then pass both Sutil and Kobayashi to finish the race in ninth place. Nico Rosberg would get ahead of both
16002-400: Was later quoted as saying: "This is one of the most perfect circuits in racing with one of the most special crowds. It means a lot to me", about his win. Martin Brundle congratulated Button on his race win, and applauded his recent form and driving throughout the weekend. Brundle was not the only one to notice Button's driving, with 1996 World Champion, Damon Hill saying: "Button is now in
16129-499: Was the team's second double points-finish with Sutil finishing eighth and Di Resta in ninth during the race. The team's final double points-finish at the final round was ultimately not enough to overtake Renault's 73 points for fifth with only four points separating them. The livery were not many that changed by retaining the same colour and redesigned graphics. Retaining sponsors including Whyte & Mackay , Kingfisher , Reebok , Doublemint and Medion ; until Sutil departed from
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