A1 GRANDPRIX™ OF NATIONS — 2005⁄2006 Fan eBook
Qualifying Format:
A1 Grand Prix uses a unique qualifying format.
The entire qualifying session takes 2 hours, broken up into 4 x 15-minute sessions in total.
Qualifying begins at 14:00
- first, there is a brief introduction, including interviews with drivers and team bosses (for TV coverage, I understand)
- the cars take part in a 15 minute session, in which every team completes a single run: an out lap, a flying lap, and then an in lap
- at the end of the 15-minute session, there is a 10-minute break (during this time, the public, in the circuit, is updated as to tue qualifying times)
- then there is another 15-minute session, followed by another break,
- and this continues until there have been 4 x 15-minute sessions in total.
Each driver's 2 quickest times are then aggregated. These times will form the starting position for the sprint race.
At the end of each partial qualifying session the the computers provide the aggregate times almost instantly, so fans can follow closely what's going on.
• No driver is forced to go out in every session
• however, more likely than not, sitting out a session should not be beneficial.
- the 25 cars going out in each 15-minute session follow no pre-established order: it is up to the the teams to decide exactly when it is advantageous to go out (especially considering the amount of traffic the driver may be facing).
If the worst should happen and there is a heavy storm, or an accident, one of the qualifying sessions might be canceled—in the worst of scenarios, even two or even three sessions can be canceled. In this last case, the 'rolling grid' for the sprint race will be based on the times from the sole session that has been run.
In sum:
The aggregate of the best two times posted in qualifying, decides the starting order (grid) for the sprint race (the first race taking place on Sunday).
Then, the finishing order of the sprint race, which features a 'rolling start', decides the starting grid for the main race, which includes a mandatory pit stop for tires.
The weekend format, in short:
2 one-hour practice sessions on Friday,
a further practice session on Saturday,
followed by qualifying (on Saturday),
Sunday kicks off with a 15-minute warm up, in the morning.
The 2 races take place Sunday afternoon.
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