Driver Numbers

teabagyokel Yes, he did.
RasputinLives Presumably that rule will change.

Completely pointless facts: The least popular digit is 8, appearing in only Grosjean's choice. The most popular digit is 1 with nine occurrences. The most popular digit excluding 1 and 2 (that appear a lot because of numbers in the 10s and 20s) is 7 with five occurrences. I have counted both 1 and 5 for Vettel, if you discount 5 for Vettel as he won't be using it in 2014 then that ties with 8 as the least popular digit. :dizzy:
 
Then Red Bull will be laughing all the way to the bank until some smart arse thinks like you, RasputinLives, and picks #2.

There could come a day, though, at Interlagos, where the title's between Alonso and Hamilton, say, and they're forced to cancel qualifying and start in number order. This could be seen as a disadvantage for Hamilton, because he'd be close to the back, but I believe it would be an advantage as Alonso's start would surely push him straight past Maldonado's front tyre going into turn one...
 
That grid in full:

1. VETTEL
2. RICCIARDO
3. CHILTON
4. ROSBERG
5. RAIKKONEN
6. GROSJEAN
7. ERICSSON
8. KOBAYASHI
9. PEREZ
10. MALDONADO
11. ALONSO
12. BIANCHI
13. MASSA
14. MAGNUSSON
15. GUTIERREZ
16. BUTTON
17. VERGNE
18. KVYAT
19. HULKENBURG
20. HAMILTON
21. BOTTAS
22. SUTIL

I'm going to go out there and suggest that Vettel might just win that race, although I suppose it depends on how long Rosberg, Raikkonen and Grosjean get held up by Chilton's classified crapmobile.

I can imagine Ron Dennis being the first to the FIA office saying this was unfair, only to listen at the door to hear "Yeah, no... erm, of course I completely agree your decision is in the best interests of F1, Mr. Ecclestone."
 
It is a bit of fun I'll grant but you but I suspect in such situations the priority will be given to whoever finished higher in the championship the previous season or who finished higher in the previous race.

Sorry to piss on your chips peeps....

Also this not going out in Q3 or just going out for a sighting lap should be banned and any team doing it without good reason should be sent to the back of the grid..
 
Last edited:
It is a bit of fun I'll grant but you but I suspect in such situations the priority will be given to whoever finished higher in the championship the previous season or who finished higher in the previous race.
I totally trust FIA to not think about this and leave the regulations as they are, until sometime during qualifying the problem will pop up.
 
Stand by for reg's check but I believe the rules regarding untimed grid positions goes something like this:

If qualifying is disrupted for everybody the grid slots are decided on the times set during free practice:
  • If that is not possible for technical or other reasons the grid order is based on the results of the previous race.
  • If the above scenario affects the first race of the season then grid order is determined by the drivers finishing order in the preceding championship season. New drivers would be placed on the basis of the confirmation of their entry to the competition. In previous years this would have been a simple case of using their number which would have been allocated when a team's entry is confirmed and which driver they listed first and second on their application.
If qualifying takes place and is concluded but a number of individual drivers do not take part or fail to qualify within the 107% Q1 best time:
  • Entry to the race will depend upon a successful appeal to the Stewards for dispensation to participate on the grounds that both driver and car would have qualified had it not been for unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.
  • In this situation the drivers grid slots - which will be at the at the tail of the grid - will be allocated on the order in which the appeals are settled.
I will now have a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and then look up the reg's to check my memory!:D
 
It seems that in my above post I was recalling reg's from some other series! Either that or my brain has pieced together remnants from past decisions or explanations from some other kind of series organisers. Doh. Amyhowsy, the numerical order thing did apply in previous seasons but it no longer does.

My first part with regard to disrupted qualifying is probably close to unwritten custom and practice but might be way off fro F1. The second part regarding individuals not making the grid but given dispensation is essentially correct, although the sporting reg's are a tad more knadgery!

Excerpt from FIA F1 2014 Sporting Regulations:

QUOTE: 36) THE GRID
36.1 During Q1, any driver whose best qualifying lap exceeds 107% of the fastest time set during that session, or who fails to set a time, will not be allowed to take part in the race. Under exceptional circumstances however, which may include setting a suitable lap time in a free practice session, the stewards may permit the car to start the race.
Should there be more than one driver accepted in this manner, the grid order will be determined by the stewards.

36.2 a) The grid will be drawn up as follows :
i) The last eight positions will be occupied by the cars eliminated during Q1, the fastest in 19th position.
ii) The next eight positions will be occupied by the cars eliminated during Q2, the fastest in 11th position.
iii) The top ten positions will be occupied by the cars which took part in Q3, the fastest from the position on the grid which was the pole position in the previous year or, on a new circuit, has been designated as such by the FIA safety delegate.

If two or more drivers set identical times during Q1, Q2 or Q3 priority will be given to the one who set it first.
If less than 26 cars are entered in the Championship appropriate amendments will be made to the above in accordance with Article 33.1.
36.2 b) If more than one driver fails to set a time during Q1, Q2 or Q3 they will be arranged in the following order :
i) Any driver who attempted to set a qualifying time by starting a flying lap.
ii) Any driver who failed to start a flying lap.
iii) Any driver who failed to leave the pits during the period.

36.2 c) Once the grid has been established in accordance with a) and b) above, grid position penalties will be applied to the drivers in question in the order the offences were committed. If more than one driver incurs a penalty under Article 28.4(a) or Article 28.6(a) preference will be given to the driver whose team first informed the technical delegate that an engine or gearbox change will be carried out.
36.2 d) Any driver who incurs a penalty under Article 28.4(a) or Article 28.6(a) will take precedence over any driver whose qualifying times have been deleted for any reason.
If more than one driver falls into a single category in b) or d) above they will be arranged on the grid in the order they were classified in the previous period of qualifying or, in the case of Q1, the order they were classified in P3. END QUOTE
 
What like at the meat counter at the supermarket?

I would say if they raced yes but surely changing numbers just for P1 is silly.
 
Ted K asked this of some bloke from Toro Rosso, apparently all the teams have been issued with additional numbers for their test drivers in case they choose to dump the original pairing during the season. I presume they will use these numbers if they drive in one of the free practice sessions (?).
 
Back
Top Bottom