How many laps?

[Mark]

How many laps does a driver typically do on an average race weekend on an 'average' length track? Taking into account all practice sessions, qualifying and the race.

[Valve Bounce]

How many laps does a driver typically do on an average race weekend on an 'average' length track? Taking into account all practice sessions, qualifying and the race.

OK! I'll bite!! How many? Is this a trick question? :confused:

[Big Ben]

100. Let's see who's the worst maniac around here.

[Mark]

OK! I'll bite!! How many? Is this a trick question? :confused:

No. I'm just curious.

[wedge]

Mileage is a better picture. That's why they refer to x amount of kilometres in testing.

[keysersoze]

My guess, assuming a front-running team with no reliabilty issues.

Friday P1: 10-15
Friday P2: 15-25

Saturday P3: 20-25
Q1: 4-5 laps
Q2: 8-12 laps
Q3: 8-12 laps

Sunday race: 60 laps on an average-size track

Total: 125-154 laps

[slorydn1]

We'll use real statistics, from the just finished race, the Malaysian Grand Prix.

According to formula 1's official website, the race winner, Vettel completed:

Practice: 64 laps
P1 19 LAPS
P2 28 LAPS
P3 17 LAPS

Qualifying: 19 laps (f1.com doesn't break it down by q1,q2,q3)

PRE-RACE: 83 LAPS (148% of Race Distance) :eek:

RACE: 56 LAPS

TOTAL LAPS COMPLETED: 139 Laps

http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2010/826/6717/

[Mark]

We'll use real statistics, from the just finished race, the Malaysian Grand Prix.

According to formula 1's official website, the race winner, Vettel completed:

Practice: 64 laps
P1 19 LAPS
P2 28 LAPS
P3 17 LAPS

Qualifying: 19 laps (f1.com doesn't break it down by q1,q2,q3)

PRE-RACE: 83 LAPS (148% of Race Distance) :eek:

RACE: 56 LAPS

TOTAL LAPS COMPLETED: 139 Laps

http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2010/826/6717/

Thanks! It wasn't a trick question :mark:

I was just watching the TV and thought, as you do, I wonder how many times the drivers have to go around the same track. Now we know, that the race only accounts for about 40% of the laps done.

The reason that's important is for the engine supply, since teams are free to put a different engine in for the practice sessions and switch to a fresher one for qualy and race. Subject to the 8 engine limit, of course.

[slorydn1]

Thanks! It wasn't a trick question :mark:

I was just watching the TV and thought, as you do, I wonder how many times the drivers have to go around the same track. Now we know, that the race only accounts for about 40% of the laps done.

The reason that's important is for the engine supply, since teams are free to put a different engine in for the practice sessions and switch to a fresher one for qualy and race. Subject to the 8 engine limit, of course.

I forgot about the practice engines.....

See in NASCAR they do it differently....there its one engine per race weekend (except for the Daytona 500 which has different rules because of the qualifying races) and you race on Sunday with the engine you practiced and qualified, or you get sent to the rear of the field that week.

What grabbed my attention and hence the :eek: was the percentage of laps that practice and qually was...almost 1.5 times the race distance, versus a typical Nascar weekend where it one might run 25 laps in p1, +3 laps (1 get up to speed plus 2 Q-laps) in qualifying, then maybe 30-35 laps in p2, then maybe another 30 laps in "Happy Hour" (final practice) then run a 325 lap race (500 miles on one of the 1.5 mile cookie cutter tracks)....

That's roughly 90 laps pre race and 325 laps during the race, so only 27% of the time spent pre-race in Nascar versus 148% in F1

[Mark]

Of course not so long ago in F1 you could use as many engines as you liked. Teams would often run an engine just for quaifying, then throw it away and put a 'race' engine into the car. Then they stopped that by saying you must race what you qualify, but you could still change engines otherwise..

Then started bringing in restrictions, firstly, that you could only use one engine per race weekend. But of course that still meant around 18 engines per car per year. Then it was engines had to last 2 races, which wasn't great as you'd get sent back on the grid for putting a fresh engine in, even if the one you'd taken out in the previous race would have been fine.

Now onto 8 engines per season, which is a sensible solution IMO.

[steveaki13]

This is a bit sad but I have worked it out and this is the leader board for Laps completed by every driver entered into the Malaysian GP Weekend.

Bear in mind Liuzzi and Kovalainen missed Practice One in favour of the Reserve drivers.

This does not include warm up & slowing down lap in Grand Prix or laps to the grid. Just officially registered laps as shown on F1 website.


Buemi 149[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Kubica 148[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Alguersuari 145[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Rosberg 140[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Sutil 140[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Vettel 139[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Senna 139[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Hulkenberg 137[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Alonso 135[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Barrichello 133[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Massa 130[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Chandhok 129[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Trulli 128[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Webber 126[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Button 124[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Hamilton 124[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Di Grassi 124[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Kobayashi 114[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Kovalainen 112 *Missed FP1[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Petrov 93[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Schumacher 92[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
De La Rosa 89[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Liuzzi 83 *Missed FP1[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Glock 70[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Di Resta 25 *FP1 Only[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Fauzy 19 *FP1 Only[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Toro Rosso 294[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Williams 270[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Hispania 268[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Ferrari 265[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Red Bull 265[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Lotus 259[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Force India 248[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Mclaren 248[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Renault 241[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Mercedes 232[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Sauber 203[/*:m:gm5llo8c]
Virgin 194[/*:m:gm5llo8c][/size]

[Rollo]

Teams would often run an engine just for qualifying,

The qualifying BMW in the 1986 Benetton B186 had a life expectancy of less than 3 laps: an out lap, the qualifying lap, and maybe the in lap.
Teo Fabi got two Poles in qualifying in Austria and also in Italy where he also scored a fastest lap. Berger managed to win the Mexican GP.

In qualifying trim at Monza the car was estimated to have produced 1750bhp which is utterly staggering considering that they were only 1.5L engines, but blown to about 7 bar boost... (105 pounds in the old money).