You may often come across terms, used by broadcasters or journalists, at a grand prix meeting that does not resonate with you.<\/p>\n
But such is the technical and strategic rigour of Formula 1, such terms are frequent and may be worth knowing. Here are four of them.<\/p>\n
Virtual Safety Car<\/p>\n
Commonly used during the race, although also within race control\u2019s jurisdiction during practice sessions, this is where the cars are mandated to lap the circuit, and parts of it, under a speed limit, while an incident is cleared.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcf2\u00a0Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n The virtual safety car is used as opposed to a safety car, which is a longer process and eats into racing laps. In theory, the drivers should not gain time, or lose time, during this period, as they are all lapping the track at the same pace.<\/p>\n However, once the green flag is waved, you can lose a position or heaps of time, if you do not time the restart well. This is what Sergio Perez learned, when he was passed by George Russell at the 2022 French Grand Prix, when a virtual safety car period ended.<\/p>\n LAP 50\/53<\/p>\n RUSSELL OVERTAKES PEREZ FOR P3 \ud83d\udc4a<\/p>\n Checo is caught sleeping by the virtual safety car restart as the Brit storms past him! #FrenchGP<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/o5tgLPiWQM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) July 24, 2022<\/a>Grand Slam<\/p>\n If a driver starts from pole; leads every lap; wins the race and sets the fastest lap, then they have completed a grand slam. It is certainly not a similar meaning to the men\u2019s golf grand slam, which means winning all four of the sport\u2019s majors, but it values a perfect weekend for a Formula 1 driver.<\/p>\n Jim Clark has won the most grand slams, with eight, followed by Lewis Hamilton, with six. The last time a driver scored one of these was Max Verstappen, during last season\u2019s opening round at the Bahrain Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Switchback<\/p>\n This is where the attacking driver compromises their entry to a corner, allowing the defending driver to lead through the apex of the corner, so that they can apply the throttle earlier, get a better exit and win the position.<\/p>\n This is often achieved by drivers with a better tyre performance, as they rely upon good traction and grip to pull this sort of overtake off.<\/p>\n It is a technique that is most common in karting, which Lewis Hamilton ensured to keep as part of his racing arsenal, once he reached Formula 1.<\/p>\n Even in 2023, his savvy deployment of this sort of overtake was made on Lando Norris, at that year\u2019s United States Grand Prix.<\/p>\n Great battling between the two Brits! \u2694\ufe0f<\/p>\n Norris defends hard but can’t stop a charging Hamilton \ud83d\udcaa#F1<\/a> #USGP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gwlTuheGdY<\/a><\/p>\n