How does formula one decide where you pit at each race?

Answer 1

This is a very complex question, and it depends on many variables, the most important one being tyre wear.

As a F1 tyre is used, it evolves, getting better as it heats up then worse as it wears out. Cars on new tyres are faster than cars on old tyres, in general, so the trick is to work out the best time to get new tyres.

The teams often use computer simulations to work out the best time to pit.

Generally, coming in to pit too early means wearing out your tyres towards the end of the race, but pitting late means 1) Going to long on gone off tyres in the first half of the race and 2) Wasting good tyres when you can't attack because you're in fuel saving (the cars are often short fuelled).

In practice that means the top teams often pit about 1/3rd of the way into the race: they start on used soft tyres from qualifying, which don't lost as long as the hard tyres they switch onto. This also means that when they go into fuel saving late in the race their tyres are worn so they can't get that much speed out anyway.

Also, if you are being held up behind a slower car, you might consider pitting then. That way you end up able to lap at your normal speed, and then get ahead of them when they pit.

Answer 2

The teams' pit garages are decided by the finishing postions of the teams in the Constructors' Championship of the previous season, with the winning team at the end by the pit lane entry and the bottom placed team, or lowest rank new team, is put at the end nearest the exit.

Answer 3

The maximum distance of each race is 305km and as all circuits are different lengths so are the number of laps the race is run over. In addition to the number of laps there is also a maximum time limit of two hours for a race