F1 Fanatic

Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Bahrain, 2010

Will F1 race in Bahrain next year? How many F1 teams are based in Britain?

It’s time to tackle another set of F1 Fanatic readers’ questions.

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix

Robin Prior has doubts the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead in 2012:

Can the 2012 Bahrain race take place? I think it looks very unlikely.

The front page of the New York Times today [16th September] features a story about the brutal repression still going on in Bahrain. Big western firms are moving out. How long can it be before people start asking difficult questions? Will some F1 sponsors decide that they don’t want to be associated with this dreadful regime and ask to have their logos pulled for that race?

Even if the regime capitulated today and allowed the dissent that it is so brutally crushing, how realistic is it to think that after so many killings and disappearances all would be sweetness and light so quickly?

The fact that no one in F1 has mentioned Bahrain since this year’s race was pulled is intriguing – what is everyone so frightened of?
Robin Prior

I think the lack of F1-related news on Bahrain since the race was cancelled is merely because this year’s race has been definitively cancelled and attention hasn’t turned to next year’s race yet. Expect that to change during the off-season.

As for whether the race will take place, at this early stage it is possible we could go through exactly the same uncertain situation as last year. But that’s seven months away at the moment and a lot can happen in that time.

• The Bahrain affair was a return to the bad old days of F1 politics

Two-hour time limit

The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix was stopped early

Andy has a question on the two-hour time limit:

How come the Canadian Grand Prix this year ran over four hours, yet 2009′s Malaysian Grand Prix was only 50 minutes?

I know the Malaysian Grand Prix had the race stopped, and the clock continued. Yet at the Canadian Grand Prix, they didn’t stop once the two hours had completed.
Andy

F1 races are run to a distance of 305km or a time limit of two hours, whichever comes first.

The way the rules work when a race is suspended is not entirely intuitive. Basically the time spent under the red flag does not count towards the two-hour time limit. However it is included when the total race duration is quoted – hence the confusing situation of the Canadian Grand Prix lasting more than twice the two-hour time limit.

In the case of the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix, the race was stopped and then not restarted as visibility was to poor due to the rain and decreasing light levels at the track.

See here fore a more detailed explanation, and the unusual example of a 20-lap race that took over five hours to complete:

• Your questions: Two hour time limit

Newsletter

Good news for Christopher – you can get F1 Fanatic in your inbox:

Have you considered a weekly email newsletter? I’d find that useful.

Many thanks,
Christopher

You can subscribe to F1 Fanatic by email via the daily digests which include all the articles published each day. Sign up here:

• Subscribe to F1 Fanatic by email

British teams

Williams F1 headquarters

A straightforward question from Errol:

Can you please tell me how many of the teams are British run?

Errol Stagg

Of the 12 teams currently active in F1, eight are based in the UK. These are Red Bull (Milton Keynes), McLaren (Woking), Williams (Grove), Mercedes (Brackley), Renault (Enstone), Force India (Silverstone), Lotus (Hingham) and Virgin (Dinnington).

You can view the locations of their factories on their team information pages which are here (and linked at the bottom of every page):

• Red Bull
• McLaren
• Mercedes
• Renault
• Williams
• Force India
• Lotus
• Virgin

Overtaking statistics

Hamilton takes Rosberg in Singapore

We’ve seen a lot more passing in 2011, prompting this question from Marko:

Hi Keith,

I have a question. Do you have info or know someone who have that sort of information, how many times did every driver pass (overtake) in race in his F1 career?

Thanks for an answer.
Marko

Overtaking statistics are a tricky business because you need very detailed information from the race to compile them.

A lap chart alone is not enough, because you risk overlooking drivers who swap position twice in a lap, or overtaking moves that happen on the same lap as pit stops.

The teams have access to GPS data to work out overtaking moves more accurately. Before the German Grand Prix, Mercedes determined 623 passes had been made this year, of which:

• 175 were made on Lotus, Virgin or HRT cars
• 43 were between team mates
• Of the remaining passes, 180 were “DRS-assisted” and 225 were not
• At this point, Canada had seen the most passes (136), followed by Turkey (123) with the fewest in Monaco (22) and Silverstone (29)

Without the same data available to the teams, I can’t produce the kind of detailed and accurate analysis of overtaking statistics you’re looking for.

I have seen statistics on overtaking quoted from a range of different sources but they often contradict each other, most likely because of the difficulty of obtaining useful raw data.

Keeping track of your comments

Woolford is looking for his old comments:

Hi Keith,

I attempted to review my past posts on your site, so I did a search of my name but it turns up nothing. I get the impression that this feature is absent or not. Please update me on this, thanks.
Woolford Hopkinson

At the moment it’s not very easy to keep track of your previous comments on the site. This is definitely a feature I intend to introduce in the near future.

Favourite drivers and teams

Hi Keith,

I have a couple of suggestions for posts: A quiz asking visitors “which driver do you support?” and “which team do you support?”

I believe it could lead to lots of discussion since the one who we support is not always the one we consider the best.
Luis

I have been considering something along these lines. But rather than conduct individual polls, I’d rather allow everyone in the community to see who supports which drivers and teams.

As with the previous comment, this is a feature I hope to introduce to the site.

F1 race programmes and posters

Keith,

I was in Monza last week for the Italian Grand Prix and was impressed at the quality of the race programmes available on sale.

Do you know if it is possible to get hold of the official programmes either in the days prior to each race or even in the week after at regular price?
Simon Hull

Hi,

I am looking to buy the official 2011 Singapore Grand Prix poster. Do you know where I could do that?
Grant Manny

To my recollection, there was a time when you could buy these through the official F1 website. But it seems this is no longer the case.

That being so, your best is probably going to be the inevitable eBay.

If anyone else knows a good place to get F1 programmes and posters, post your suggestions in the comments.

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Your questions answered

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• Where is the 2013 F1 calendar?
• How many tracks did Rubens Barrichello race at?
• How many points have drivers lost in 2012?
• How many drivers have raced in F1 – and more of your questions
• Black flags, unlapping and British Grand Prix refunds
• Win-less champions, going to a race and hosting fees

Images © Mercedes, Toyota F1 World, Williams, Singapore GP/Sutton