What about parc fermé during the GP weekend at Silverstone?

At the British Grand Prix, Formula 1 is experimenting with a brand new format that will give the weekend a slightly different feel. One thing is very important now on Friday: keep your car in one piece at all costs. A visit to the tyre pits at Silverstone could prove costly.

Parc fermé in force early on

During the first free practice, drivers can normally still make a mistake. There is always a second and third free practice, but this weekend at Silverstone that will not be the case. FP1 will be followed by a qualifying session that will determine the starting grid for Saturday's sprint race.

During the first practice session, the car can be worked on without any obligation, but after that, the 'normal' qualifying will start as we know it from the usual Saturday afternoon. This means that after FP1 there is a partial parc fermé. This means that the teams cannot (almost) make any changes to the set-up of their cars.

Small adjustments are allowed

On Saturday morning, another practice session is planned, the second free practice. But because parc fermé is already in force, the formations are not allowed to make any changes to the car. FP2 seems useless, but it is not. The FIA sporting regulations contain a provision that makes it worthwhile to go out on the track during the second free practice session.

The teams are allowed to change certain parts of the car during FP2. For example, it is allowed to make changes to the front wing and similar small changes. However, the teams are not allowed to make any fundamental set-up changes after the partial parc fermé has started. The full parc fermé will start at the sprint race on Saturday.

No crashing in FP1

We are facing a busy first free practice because they only have sixty minutes to set up. In this hour it is also important for the drivers not to crash. Never before has the first practice been as precious as the one at Silverstone this weekend. If you crash in VT1, you have almost no chance to set up your car properly.

On top of that, just over two hours after FP1 the qualifying for the sprint race starts. If you can not participate, you will start last in the sprint race and the chance to get a good starting position for the Grand Prix on Sunday is almost impossible.