FF1 2012 Rules and Points-Scoring

Rules

Team Selection

Players must make their initial selections of three drivers, one chassis and one engine from the total budget of £545m. The three drivers and the chassis must each come from different real-world teams (for example, if a player chooses the McLaren chassis, they cannot select either Hamilton or Button as drivers, including reserve).

This restriction remains in place throughout the season, so all transfer requests must be consistent with this rule. Responsibility falls on the player for checking their team is legal (see Transfers below).

Values

All the values of drivers, chassis and engines are based on the number of world championship points scored by the driver/chassis/engine in his/their previous ten races (with a base minimum value of £10m for drivers, £25m for chassis and £50m for engines). The current values of all drivers/chassis/engines, and a chart showing their points scored over the previous ten races, will be published in the transfers thread ahead of each race. For chassis, the value is the total of points scored by both cars in the last ten races; for engines, the total of points scored by all cars using that engine in the last ten races.

Players should note that the value is based on each driver's/chassis'/engine's last ten participations, which may not be the last ten races held. For example, Kimi Raikkonen has a starting value of £98m in the 2012 season - this is based on the points he scored in the final ten races of 2009, which were his most recent F1 races. Points scored in previous seasons are converted to the current points system if necessary regardless of the points system that was in force at the time.

After each race the values are recalculated. For example, if Lewis Hamilton fails to score in Australia, he will only have scored 93 points over his previous ten races and his value will drop from £118m to £93m.

Transfers

Players have a total of 15 transfers to use at any time during the season. Following the publication of each race results (normally within 24 hours of the chequered flag), a transfers thread will appear in the Fantasy F1 forum. Players wishing to make a transfer must post their request in a reply in this thread. The deadline for transfers is at midnight UK time the night before the first practice session of the Grand Prix weekend - this being midnight on Thursday for all races except Monaco (midnight on Wednesday). The transfer thread will be closed and locked on the deadline and late requests will not be considered.

Players may use as many transfers between races as they wish (for example, to change all three drivers, their chassis and engine in time for the next race. Note that this would equate to 5 transfers used from the total of 15).

Players should note that transfers will be made at the VALUES AT THE TIME (see Values above). The current values of all drivers, chassis and engines will be published in the transfers thread.

Players must ensure that their team remains legal in terms of driver and chassis selections once transfers have been applied (see Team Selection above) and that their changes are affordable. If an invalid transfer is requested, no team changes will be enacted, and a notification message will be placed in the relevant transfers thread.

Details of the transfers made by all players between each race will be published in the opening post of each transfers thread.

Reserve Driver Activation

Only the two nominated drivers (Driver 1 and Driver 2) score points on a race weekend. The reserve driver is there as a backup, in case one of the nominated drivers fails to participate in a Grand Prix, for whatever reason (sacking/retirement/injury etc.) and players have been unable to, or have chosen not to make a transfer to secure a replacement.

The reserve driver will become active if a nominated driver completes qualifying but is unable to start the race, however once both nominated drivers have begun the parade lap of the race the reserve driver is stood down (he will not save you from a first-corner accident or startline stall). The only exception to this is where the race is red-flagged and restarted in the original grid order. In this case, if a nominated driver is unable to take the restart, the reserve driver comes into play.

In all cases, if a reserve driver becomes active for a particular Grand Prix, ALL his points from that Grand Prix will be counted – even if the nominated driver participates in qualifying. Any points scored by the nominated driver in qualifying will be disregarded and the reserve driver’s qualifying score will be used instead.

Players may ‘activate’ their reserve driver as a points-scoring member of their team for one event, meaning that the points scored by all three of the team's drivers will count towards their total for an event. The fee to activate the reserve driver for a single event is £18m, and players can activate their reserve driver as many times as they wish during the season, paying the fee of £18m each time.

Players should announce their intention to activate a reserve in the transfers thread, and the same deadline applies to reserve driver activations as for transfers. Players must always have the fee available in spare cash - it is not possible to go into debt. The points-scoring for activated reserves is slightly different to nominated drivers – see Points-Scoring below.

Internal Driver Swaps

Players may swap their reserve driver for either of their nominated drivers without penalty during the transfer window between each Grand Prix. As these are internal team changes, the player is not charged one of their fifteen transfers, and the player can make as many swaps as they wish during the season. The same deadlines will apply as to transfers, so it is not possible to swap drivers during a race weekend.

Bonus Prediction Game

A bonus prediction game will be set up in each transfer window. The thread will be set up as a poll, with players voting for their chosen option from the list of choices. The number of bonus points awarded for each prediction will vary according to difficulty (and any other criteria thought fit). In some cases, points will be available to those whose prediction was incorrect but close to the correct choice. The full details of the scoring criteria and number of points available in each game will be given in the thread.

At the transfer deadline, the thread will be locked so that predictions cannot be changed. All winning players will have their bonus points added to the total for that race, and these will be shown in the race results thread.

Penalties/Disqualifications

Qualifying
Points for qualifying positions will be scored based on the qualifying order given on the Official Formula One Website (www.formula1.com). This order usually records drivers purely in order of lap time within each segment, and does not take account of grid position penalties.

Races
In the event of an exclusion from a race, the driver, chassis and engine will be considered to be non-classified finishers and will not score points based on their race finishing position. Points for the number of race laps completed will still be counted, however, as will any bonus points scored for fastest lap or fastest pit stop. Points scored in qualifying are unaffected by exclusions affecting the race result.

Exclusion/absence from future events
If a driver, chassis or engine is barred from competing at a future event or events, or announces that they will miss a future event or events for any reason, the responsibility falls entirely on the player to make arrangements for transfers. If a nominated driver fails to compete the reserve will become active according to the normal rules, but no reserve arrangements will apply to excluded or absent chassis or engine suppliers.

Appeals
In the unlikely event of an appeal against a stewards’ decision being successful, and an amendment to the official race results, the fantasy league scores for that race will be adjusted accordingly.

Rule Disputes

Any queries regarding the points awarded for a particular event should be communicated before the end of the transfer window following that event. A detailed breakdown of points will be provided for players’ convenience. In any dispute these rules, and the results published on the Official Formula One Website www.formula1.com are the primary source of authority. If and when special arrangements have to be made for handling situations outwith these rules, the arrangements will be made with fairness to all players as the foremost consideration, and communicated to players via the Fantasy F1 forum.

Points Scoring

Drivers

Qualifying
Each qualifier scores points according to their qualifying position as follows:

Position	Points	Position	Points
1st	34	13th	9
2nd	28	14th	8
3rd	26	15th	7
4th	24	16th	6
5th	22	17th	5
6th	20	18th	4
7th	18	19th	3
8th	16	20th	2
9th	14	21st	1
10th	12	22nd	0
11th	11	23rd	0
12th	10	24th	0

Drivers who fail to qualify score zero.

Race
Each driver scores 1 point per whole race lap completed

Activated reserve drivers score points according to the proportion of the race laps completed, as follows:

Race distance completed	Points
0 laps	0
1 lap-25%	10
25.1%-50%	20
50.1%-75%	30
75.1%-100%	40

Each classified finisher scores points according to their finishing position as follows:

Position	Points	Position	Points
1st	100	11th	12
2nd	80	12th	10
3rd	60	13th	8
4th	50	14th	7
5th	42	15th	6
6th	34	16th	5
7th	28	17th	4
8th	22	18th	3
9th	18	19th	2
10th	14	20th	1

Bonus
The driver who sets the fastest race lap scores a 20 point bonus

The driver who makes up the most positions from grid to finish scores a 20 point bonus

Chassis

Qualifying
The two cars score points according to their qualifying positions as per the scoring system for drivers (see above), e.g. a front row qualification for the chassis scores 62 points

Race
The total number of race laps completed by both cars is converted to 1 point per whole lap

The two cars score points according to their finishing positions as per the scoring system for drivers (see above), e.g. a 1-2 finish for the chassis scores 180 points

Bonus
The team who record the fastest pit stop during the race score 30 points for that chassis

Engines

Qualifying
The first two qualifiers using the engine score points according to their qualifying position as per the scoring system for drivers (see above)

Race
The total number of race laps completed by the first two classified finishers using the engine is converted to 1 point per whole lap

The first two classified finishers using the engine score points according to their finishing position as follows:

Position	Points	Position	Points
1st	135	11th	12
2nd	105	12th	10
3rd	75	13th	8
4th	50	14th	7
5th	42	15th	6
6th	34	16th	5
7th	28	17th	4
8th	22	18th	3
9th	18	19th	2
10th	14	20th	1

Bonus
The car that records the fastest time through the speed trap in qualifying scores 30 points for their engine supplier

Bonus Prediction Game
The number of points available for the Prediction Game will vary from race to race, and will be published in the Prediction Game thread.

All results are taken from the Official Formula One Website (www.formula1.com).