{"id":875439,"date":"2026-08-29T05:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T05:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/875439\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T05:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T05:36:13","slug":"f1-as-explained-to-a-third-grader-answering-your-fundamental-qs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/875439\/","title":{"rendered":"F1, as explained to a third grader. Answering your fundamental Qs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic\u2019s F1 newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox twice a week during the season and weekly in the offseason.<\/p>\n

Welcome back to Prime Tire, where today we\u2019re wondering whether, now that we have\u00a0a newsletter hotline<\/a> open, you\u2019ll indulge us with an all-mailbag edition?<\/p>\n

Ah, too late. I\u2019ve already done it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Patrick, and our dear readers\u2019 questions will be answered shortly. But first \u2026<\/p>\n

All hail La Monumental<\/p>\n

Hard to believe the new and improved Spanish Grand Prix is mere weeks away, but yep, that\u2019s a thing. Formula 3 did some test laps this week at the Madring in Madrid and shared some footage of Turn 12, the long right-hander with steep banking we can\u2019t wait to see in F1 action. It\u2019s called \u201cLa Monumental,\u201d which is Spanish for \u201cThis Is Awesome To Drive On.\u201d I think \u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you already miss Zandvoort\u2019s curved corners, this should whet your appetite.\u00a0For more on the track and how it\u2019s coming together, read\u00a0Luke\u2019s summer dispatch<\/a>\u00a0from Madrid.<\/p>\n

And now, on to your questions \u2026<\/p>\n

Prime Tire Mailbag<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with F1\u2019s salary cap.\u00a0Remember: These questions are anonymous, so you all felt comfortable asking anything! (Questions were edited lightly for brevity.)<\/p>\n

Here we go:<\/p>\n

Cost cap, delta and drivers\u2019 preferred tracks<\/p>\n

How does F1\u2019s \u201csalary cap\u201d work?\u00a0How is it possible that Mercedes has run out of money when McLaren hasn\u2019t, when McLaren has had the same reliability issues and brought more upgrades?<\/p>\n

So, F1\u2019s cost cap isn\u2019t a salary cap like the Big Four leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB). The cost cap is what it says on the tin:\u00a0It\u2019s a spending limit.\u00a0Crucially, the driver salaries don\u2019t count. Neither do the three highest-paid staff, marketing or hospitality costs. The cost cap really is all about the car and the people around it\u00a0\u2014\u00a0design, development, aero, race ops and most staff pay.<\/p>\n

For 2026, it\u2019s $215 million per team for 24 races or fewer,\u00a0plus $1.8 million per extra race. Engine manufacturers have a separate $190 million cap, but that\u2019s a mailbag for another day.<\/p>\n

And, Mercedes hasn\u2019t run out of money, it just chose to spread spending evenly and hasn\u2019t reached its next allocated window. The next big package is due in Malaysia. McLaren front-loaded instead, and have had more upgrades in a shorter period of time than Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Red Bull already took a 10-place penalty weeks ago for an engine upgrade. Do driver salaries count towards that, or is it only for car development\/improvements?<\/p>\n

Red Bull\u2019s grid penalty is a completely different rulebook, though the mix-up is understandable. The cost cap lives in F1\u2019s financial regulations. Grid penalties for new engines come from the sporting regulations, which limit how many of each engine component a driver can use in a season.<\/p>\n

What does \u201cdelta\u201d mean? And what are the drivers looking at on their little screens?<\/p>\n

In F1,\u00a0delta just means \u201cdifference.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s usually the gap in lap time between what a driver is currently doing and some reference time (their fastest lap, a teammate\u2019s lap or a target set by the team).<\/p>\n

On their steering wheel display, drivers see a running number like\u00a0+0.312\u00a0or\u00a0-0.045,\u00a0updating in real time as they drive. Positive means slower than the reference, negative means faster. It\u2019s most visible during qualifying (racing against your own best lap) and under safety car\/VSC conditions, where teams give drivers a minimum delta time they must not go faster than, to avoid overtaking under caution.<\/p>\n

Which 2 or 3 tracks do most drivers think are the most fun to race on \u2014 those which provide multiple overtaking spots, really test their skills and are just plain fun?<\/p>\n

Ah, worth noting that \u201cfun to drive\u201d and \u201cgood for overtaking\u201d aren\u2019t always the same tracks! Drivers like\u00a0Zandvoort,\u00a0but the Dutch GP will never be accused of being a barnburner of a race.<\/p>\n

For pure driving,\u00a0Suzuka\u00a0(Japanese GP) is close to unanimous. The opening Esses are famously flowy and leave no room for error, and drivers describe getting them right as the best feeling.<\/p>\n

Spa\u00a0(Belgian GP) is second on almost every list, for Eau Rouge and Raidillon, the elevation and the sheer scale of the place.<\/p>\n

Silverstone\u00a0(British GP) rounds it out, specifically the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex that really pulls some g-forces.<\/p>\n

Note that all three of these tracks aren\u2019t as fun for drivers this year because of the battery-recharging thing, which we\u2019ll get into next.<\/p>\n

More Mailbag: Driving, deleted laps and team colors<\/p>\n

Can you explain \u2014 in terms a third grader might understand \u2014 how the battery system and recharging work in an F1 car, and how this affects race strategy?<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Sure! Picture the F1 car with two halves of a single engine.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0gas\u00a0half\u00a0of the engine burns fuel like a normal car.
\nThe\u00a0battery\u00a0part\u00a0is like a giant remote-controlled car motor giving an extra push. In 2026, it\u2019s almost as powerful as the gas engine.<\/p>\n

Ever seen an old-timey movie or cartoon where the guy\/scientist rides a stationary bike so fast that a lightbulb comes on? Same concept, really. Energy gets converted into electricity.\u00a0When the driver brakes hard, that braking energy gets turned into electricity and refills the battery.<\/p>\n

The battery is small and drains fast,\u00a0so it\u2019s built for short powerful bursts rather than lasting a long time. It\u2019s like a video game energy bar: Drivers must save boost for the right moment (overtaking\/defending) instead of using it all at once, or they\u2019ll be stuck with no power exactly when they need it most on the next straight.<\/p>\n

And drivers have to think corner by corner, as they drive, of where they\u2019re going to brake harder and harvest energy rather than go as fast as possible everywhere, all the time.<\/p>\n

During races, I\u2019ve heard commentators mention a lap has been \u201cdeleted\u201d either during or after the race, I expect due to exceeding the track limits. This makes sense during qualification, but why is it done during the grand prix, and what effect does it have?<\/p>\n

Yeah. It seems a little pointless!<\/p>\n

In the race, getting a lap time deleted does almost nothing to your afternoon.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t remove a lap from your count and it doesn\u2019t change your position. Its only direct effect is on the timing record, which used to matter when the race\u2019s fastest lap delivered a point. That rule is gone now, so the whole thing is a bit of a vestigial organ.<\/p>\n

That said, the tally matters, as repeat offenses accumulate. Too many, and you get shown the black-and-white flag as a formal warning, and further infringements after that bring a time penalty. So the deletion itself is bookkeeping.<\/p>\n

How did each team choose its colors? Some are obvious because it\u2019s the manufacturer\u2019s colors, but then you have orange for McLaren?<\/p>\n

For decades, cars were painted by nationality rather than sponsor. British green, Italian red, French blue, German white and later silver. Super boring. Ferrari\u2019s red is the last survivor of that system.<\/p>\n

In the late 1960s, that all changed when tobacco money arrived and teams discovered that a livery could be sold. From that point on,\u00a0a car\u2019s color told you who was paying rather than where it was from.<\/p>\n

McLaren\u2019s papaya, oddly, arrived around the same moment for different reasons. Bruce McLaren<\/a>\u2019s business partner, Teddy Mayer, reckoned orange would read well on black-and-white TV and loom large in a rival\u2019s mirrors.<\/p>\n

And then McLaren went away from it for a while. A travesty. I know many of you like the 2007 Lewis Hamilton-era livery<\/a>, and you\u2019re wrong. I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n

A quick rundown of the 2026 grid:<\/p>\n

Ferrari:\u00a0Italian red. The dinosaur livery.
\nMcLaren:\u00a0Papaya for the TVs.
\nMercedes:\u00a0Silver and black, for \u2026 Mercedes.
\nRed Bull:\u00a0Ever seen a Red Bull can?
\nRacing Bulls:\u00a0Red Bull colors but \u2026 different. Because they\u2019re *technically* different.
\nAston Martin:\u00a0British racing green. Also \u2026 well, Aston Martin\u2019s color.
\nAlpine:\u00a0French blue, but pink for their sponsor, BWT.
\nHaas:\u00a0Black, white and red, like Haas\u2019 other motorsports teams.
\nAudi:\u00a0Titanium silver for Germany\u2019s silver car tradition, with red accents for Audi\u2019s racing past.
\nCadillac:\u00a0Black and white, straight from GM\u2019s luxury branding.
\nWilliams:\u00a0A relic of the 1994 Rothmans sponsorship\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the cigarette brand\u2019s colors were blue, white and gold. Williams won titles in this car, so the blue stuck (it helps that their partners through the years like BMW and Martini have also been blue).
\nLightning Round<\/p>\n

What are they holding in front of the driver\u2019s face in the garage?\u00a0A screen or a fan. Sometimes both! The screen usually displays data or lap times for drivers as they decompress between times on track.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an \u201cout lap\u201d? The lap leaving the pits before a timed run. Drivers use it to build tire and brake temperature, which is why they weave and appear to be going slowly for no reason.<\/p>\n

What are \u201csetup changes\u201d?\u00a0Wing angles, ride height, suspension stiffness, anti-roll bars, differential settings, brake balance, tire pressures. You name it. Lots of little mechanical adjustments, made with tools in the garage between sessions. These are different than the changes drivers can make with their steering wheel to the brake balance and such.<\/p>\n

Outside the Points<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb If you simply can\u2019t get enough mailbag, our regular post-race mailbag is\u00a0up on the site right now<\/a>. The big question: Is McLaren the team to beat now?<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfce\ufe0f Franco Colapinto\u00a0has re-signed with Alpine<\/a>\u00a0for the 2027 season. This driver\u2019s market, huh?\u00a0Sure is exciting<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\udde8 Hey, remember Pierre Gasly\u2019s Monaco penalty appeals? From months ago? We have an update on that. Sort of. (It might take a few weeks\u00a0more<\/a>\u00a0\u2026)<\/p>\n

\u26bd And, finally, Luke\u00a0has a fun story<\/a>\u00a0about how Haas\u2019 team principal, who is from Japan, became a die-hard fan of the Premier League\u2019s Coventry City.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Love Prime Tire? Check out The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic\u2019s F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":875440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-875439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}