An extra third race has been added to some rounds of the F1 Academy, replacing the Saudi Arabian weekend
The international conflict has affected the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and it’s championships. For this reason, the April round of the F1 Academy calendar, which was due to take place in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), has been postponed indefinitely. This means that the drivers will be unable to compete in what could have been a full race weekend, where every point counts, as the championship only consists of seven rounds.
The New Race Format
To compensate, the programme for young female drivers has created a three-race format to be applied to some rounds. Bringing the total number of races planned for the championship up to 14. In order to achieve this, the weekends for the second and fifth rounds in Montreal and Austin, respectively, will see a change to their usual format, according to the new calendar.
The championship has therefore decided to rename the races. With the new addition set to kick off the weekend’s competition as the ‘Opening Race’. Race 1 will become the ‘Reverse Grid’, and the ‘Feature Race’ will replace Race 2 closing the weekend.
What Does it Involve?
The qualifying session lasts thirty minutes, during which the two fastest laps of each driver will be taken into account. The fastest time will determine the grid order for the Reverse Grid Race and the Feature Race. However, the second fastest lap will decide the starting order for the Opening Race.
If two drivers set identical times, the F1 Academy has announced that the driver who set the time first will take precedence. Furthermore, any penalties incurred during the pre-race sessions may be applied across the three races.
How will points be awarded over the course of these weekends?
All three races will operate on a points system. It has been decided that the same points system will be used for both the Opening Race and the Feature Race. The winner will receive 25 points, with the number decreasing down to one point for tenth place. In the Reverse Grid race, meanwhile, points will be awarded to the top eight finishers, starting from 10 points and decreasing to one point for eighth place.
Furthermore, the fastest lap will continue to be worth one point if the driver finishes in a points-scoring position. And the driver who starts from pole position in the final race will also receive two points.
This system has been used in previous editions of the championship. The inclusion of a third race in certain rounds benefits the drivers. This is because it restores the track time originally scheduled for a cancelled round. This gives the drivers and teams the opportunity to earn decisive points in the standings.
Featured Image Credit: formula1.com
Edited by Alexandra.
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