Written By: Eason Yu
Introduction
Formula 1, is much more complex than just driving a car. It is a highly competitive sport where tactics and analogy are just as important as the driving itself. This article will be a build-on to the first article : A Rookie’s Guide into F1, where we’ll dive deeper into the tactical aspects of Formula 1; how every detail can affect the result of a race weekend.
Formula 1 has as many tactics as the common sport, and the correct usage of each tactic heavily influences the outcome of a driver’s performance.
Common Tactics
These tactics are set under the circumstances where two cars Car A and Car B need to perform a pit stop and that Car A is in front of Car B and Car B wants to overtake Car A.
Undercut
Under the circumstances where Car A and Car B have equal lap times, an undercut is performed when switching to a different tyre that would lower the lap time for car B. After Car B puts on new tyres, the time taken for Car B to complete a lap will be lower than car A. Eventually Car A needs to pit for newer tyres as well, and by the time Car A exits the pits, due to the faster times car B had, Car B would eventually overtake Car A
Overcut
An over cut is performed less often compared to the undercut, as they occur in race tracks that are much harder to overtake. In this case, Car A pits first, and rather the common reaction for Car B to follow into the pit sooner, Car B stays out and does not pit. Car B continues a few more laps to gain a larger advantage ahead of Car A and due to the difficulty in overtaking, despite Car B pitting much later than Car A, the advantage gained during that period is enough to enable Car B to stay ahead of Car A. Hence, fully completing the overtake.
Stalling
As the audience, you may witness many moments where teams use stalling tactics to slow down opponent vehicles. As Formula 1 is a track race, drivers would have to overtake other cars to get “clean air”(when the car has no obstacles ahead and would be able to travel at full speed). Which makes having the lead in Formula 1 extremely crucial, as the presence of enemy vehicles ahead would slow you down. Stalling is when there is a new Car C that is in-front of Car A. Car B has a large distance gap to Car A, so in-order for Car B to catch up, Car C would heavily defend Car A, which forces Car A to spend more energy to try and gain position, as well as slow Car A down massively. Hopefully, Car B would catch up to Car A by the time Car C cannot effectively defend Car A anymore.
This tactic was infamously used when Max Verstappen needed to overtake Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In this case, Hamilton is Car A, Verstappen is Car B and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez is Car C. Perez successfully stalled Hamilton enough to allow Verstappen to decrease the gap between himself and Hamilton from 7 seconds to 0.2 seconds. Which in the end after some hassle from the FIA, enabled Verstappen to win the Grand Prix and the Championship as well.
Weather & Climate
Being an outdoor sport, the weather plays a huge role in affecting the outcome of the race. As heavy rain would result in a slippery track, which would be a testament to each driver’s ability to maintain control and speed despite the poor weather conditions.
Climate also strongly influences the outcome of the race, races such as the ‘Singapore Grand Prix’ is widely considered one of the toughest races due to Singapore’s hot and dry climate, which takes a huge toll on the driver’s physical health and endurance.
Tyres
As of the 2023 Formula 1 season, every race provides a total of 5 tyre options - each bringing a different purpose for the driver. Pirelli (the tyre provider) picks 3 of the 5 tyres for the weekend depending on the track, as some tracks can have more tyre-wear(when the tyre breaks down) and some may have less tyre-wear. However, the main 5 tyres you’ll see on a race weekend are : Hard(White), Medium(Yellow), Soft(Red), Intermediates(Green) and Wet(Blue). During dry conditions - where the tracks are dry and don’t have any signs of rain, the Hard, Mediums, and Softs are commonly used.
Hard tyres grant sustainability, as they can last more laps without having signs of degradation - this is used when drivers want to commit lesser pit stops and fight for the long run.
Soft tyres grant the best speed, as their soft texture allows them to be softened easily by the track heat, which reduces the overall friction. Consequently, they tend to last shorter and would degrade more easily compared to the Hards - Softs are used when a driver wants to quickly gain positions in the short term or go for a run to obtain the ‘Fastest Lap’ point. Finally, the Mediums are built to have somewhat of a balance in between the sustainability of the Hards and the speeds of the Softs.
During scenarios where rain has impacted the track, teams may decide to put on the rain tyres which are the Intermediates and the Wet tyres. Wet tyres are assigned when heavy rain is impacting the race, and when the speed of the car reaches up to 300 mph, 85 liters of water could be easily evacuated per second per tyre. This grants the driver with more stability during the wetter conditions and minimizes the aqua-planing(sliding) happening on track. However, if the rain is too heavy, the FIA may Red Flag the race due to safety reasons.
The Intermediates, on the other hand, are used when the track has a lighter rain condition, but not too wet so that the Wet tyres need to be issued. The Intermediates are also called the “Ints”.
Safety Car & Virtual Safety Car
A safety car or virtual safety car is deployed when debris has been spotted on track. This may be due to an incident such as a crash, or engine failures forcing the driver to park the car on track. The SC(Safety Car) or VSC (Virtual Safety Car) is deployed to minimize the speed of the race cars, allowing time for the officials to clear off any hazardous debris on track.
Whenever a SC or VSC is deployed, cars would be held back by the speed limit, which creates a phenomenon where cars are tightly packed together and close to each other. Which may all of a sudden turn 15 second gaps into 0.2 second gaps. During the SC and VSC, many teams may choose to conduct a pit stop, as due to the cars being unable to go at full speeds, it is easier to catch up to other cars even with the extra time required for a pit stop to be completed. Therefore, a SC/VSC may make or break a drivers race. Because if they pitted before the SC/VSC, then they would somewhat be punished as they would’ve lost much less time if they chose to when the SC/VSC was out. Whereas if drivers who needed to pit went for a tyre change during the SC/VSC, then their time lost from the pit entry would be heavily decreased.
An infamous example is during the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where Max Verstappen decided to pit after a SC was deployed. And after a bit of a hassle with the FIA, Max Verstappen raced Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the race. Due to Verstappen having fresher and newer tyres compared to Hamilton’s, he was able to successfully overtake Hamilton and win the Grand Prix and the World Championship.
Conclusion
Formula 1 is more than just driving and waving flags. Its tactical elements are as advanced as other sports.
Understanding the strategic side of Formula 1 now, next time when you watch a race, you’ll be able to understand and enjoy the race on a whole other level.
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