Race strategy

How Formula 1 races are won and lost away from raw pace: tyre management, pit-stop timing, the undercut and overcut, and the calls teams make under pressure. These citation-backed guides break down the strategy behind every Grand Prix.

• What are the strategies in F1?
  F1 race strategy combines tyre compound choice, pit stop timing, and tactical responses to safety cars and weather. The...
• What is the undercut in F1?
  The undercut is a strategy where a driver pits before the car ahead, gains time on fresh tyres while the rival is still...
• Why does the undercut work in F1?
  The undercut works because fresh tyres are roughly one to two seconds a lap faster than worn ones, and that advantage is...
• What is the overcut in F1?
  The overcut is the mirror image of the undercut: instead of pitting early, a driver stays out longer than a rival who ha...
• How do pit windows work in F1?
  A pit window is the range of laps during which a driver can pit and still execute their planned race strategy. Race stra...
• One-stop vs two-stop: how F1 teams choose a race strategy
  A one-stop race means a single pit stop and longer stints on more durable tyres; a two-stop means an extra stop but fres...
• How F1 drivers manage tyre degradation
  Tyre degradation is the loss of grip as a tyre wears and overheats through a stint. Drivers manage it by keeping the tyr...
• How the safety car changes F1 strategy
  A safety car or virtual safety car slows the whole field, which slashes the time a pit stop costs because rivals are als...
• F1 wet-weather strategy explained
  In the rain teams choose between two grooved tyres: intermediates for a damp or drying track and full wets for standing...
• Why doesn't F1 refuel during races?
  In-race refuelling has been banned in Formula 1 since 2010, on safety and cost grounds after a series of pit-lane fires...