How to play - 2008

Main changes since 2007

• Scoring. The first 5 positions score differently than last year. For drivers, there used to be a 4 point difference per position from 1st to 16th. Now 1st=140pts, 2nd=116pts, 3rd=96pts, 4th=80pts, 5th=68pts, 6th=60pts... and then down in 4's to 16th position.
• Leagues can have up to 50 players (up from 16).
• Bonus drivers can now be shared within the same league.
• You now have to select two Bonus driver's (one from two groups). Scoring is the same as last year.
• After the Friday night deadline has passed for accepting your selections, the Bonus Drivers will be randomly changed to another pair of drivers. You may change them back to your original selections before the next deadline.
• Driver, constructor, and engine values have risen again, meaning that players will have to pick more lower valued drivers, constructors and engines. Another change here is that after the 2nd race of the season (and before the official scoring starts), some drivers, constructors and engines will have their values lowered. This is to allow us to make adjustments for those that don't appear to be doing as well as we initially thought. A further revision may be made after the British G.P. in July. Be aware of this!

Playing

• The official F1 Challenge season starts from race 3 (Bahrain - 6th April 2008), however, leagues can be created at a later stage. Late created leagues will have the following race as a practice race, with that leagues official scoring starting at the race after that. This is to give new leagues time to get other players to join it. To create a league, please click here.
• Each player forms a team comprising of 4 main drivers, a constructor, an engine, and two bonus drivers. Each of these elements can be changed throughout the season. Each element (excluding the bonus drivers) has a value. The combined value of those elements must be 100 or less.
• Each player will be given a bonus circuit by the system. This cannot be changed. Any points that the player scores will be doubled when that circuit is raced at.
• Each player will play in a league of up to 50 players. A league can be created for an individual person, or a group of people to form a competition (such as a sweepstake).
• A deadline of 23.59 UK time on the Friday before a race is when any changes to a team must be made to be accepted for the forthcoming race. No changes can be made during a 60 minute window after this deadline. After this period, players can log-in to make changes to their team, but these changes will be for the race AFTER the forthcoming one.
• The values of the drivers, constructors and engines will in the most part stay the same, however after race 2 of the season, a small revision of the values will take place. A minor revision may take place after the the British G.P. in July.
• A player's "team" will be saved for subsequent races, but the player can modify their team prior to the deadline if they wish.

Scoring

Drivers

Finishing position (as recorded on http://www.formula1.com) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 140pts 116pts 96pts 80pts 68pts 60pts 56pts 52pts 48pts 44pts 40pts 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 36pts 32pts 28pts 24pts 20pts No Points Final points paying position: 16th

Constructors

Collect 50% of their drivers "finishing position score". Example: McLaren drivers finish 2nd and 3rd. 2nd = 116 pts, 3rd = 96pts. Total: 212pts. 50% = 106pts

Engines

Collect 25% of their drivers "finishing position score". Example: Toyota drivers finish 4th and 5th. 4th = 80pts, 5th = 68 pts. Total: 148 pts. 25% = 37 pts

Bonus Drivers

Each of your two Bonus Driver's will score five points for each place that they gain from the place they are classified as starting the race in. No points will be lost if the driver's lose places. The driver's will also score five points if they finish in the same place that they started. Points available: 0 - 205 (between both driver's).

Bonus Circuit

When F1 drivers race at your given Bonus Circuit, ALL points will be doubled.

Example... A players team for a race maybe:

Kovalainen (finishes 2nd) : 116pts
Hamilton (finishes 3rd) : 96pts
Webber (finishes 10th) : 44pts
Button (finishes 11th) : 40 pts
McLaren Constructor (finishes 2nd & 3rd) : 106pts
Toyota Engine (finishes 4th & 5th) : 37 pts
Bonus Driver 1: Webber (gained 4 places): 20 pts
Bonus Driver 2: Sato (gained 6 places): 30 pts

Total: 489 pts

This point scoring system is used to prevent fractional points for the constructor and engine scores and thus keeps the scoreboard neater. All points are subject to post-race penalties, changes to finishing positions, and appeals. This means scores could get altered at a later date.

Race classification

In general, all race statistics will be taken from the Race Archive "Race" section on http://www.formula1.com (the official F1 site). However, if any cars are missing from it (due to disqualifications or teams quitting Formula 1 mid-season), then they will be added to the bottom of the official results in the same finishing order as the last race that they competed in. The reason all cars need to be included is because points are available to 16th position.

If a driver is disqualified during a race, or after the race has finished, then their finishing position maybe different to the FIA classification. The FIA tends to record them in a non-consistant way... sometimes above retirements if they had finished the race, or by the number of laps they had completed when they withdrew. However, on the F1 Challenge, if a driver is disqualified, then that driver will be placed below the first driver to retire (or last place if there are no retirements), but above any cars that did not start the race. If more than one driver is disqualified, then they will be listed in the order that they started the race.

Classification Priority:
Drivers finishing race > Retirements > Disqualifications > Drivers not starting the race.

If any driver is to lose points from PREVIOUS races due to unsportsman-like behaviour, then any player that selected that driver during that period WILL NOT lose any points on the F1 Challenge. However, this rule will not apply if a driver is to lose points for having had an illegal car in a PREVIOUS race. Should this happen, that driver would be disqualified for the races in question and the results would be amended. F1 Challenge reserves the right to the final say in any dispute.

Starting positions will also be taken as the FIA has recorded them on the same "Race" page as above (under the "Grid" column). This sometimes means that a driver started the race in a different position to what he qualified in on Saturday afternoon. This could be because, for example, the team changing the engine and therefore suffering a ten-place grid penalty. Starting positions are important for the "Bonus Driver" score. Pole Position will be taken as the car that is classified "1" under the "Grid" column.

Further Rules

• If a real F1 team makes a permanent driver change, the system will change every player's team where that driver was picked, to the replacement driver's name. This also applies even if the original driver is now driving for another team. The replacement driver will inherit the old driver's value and any points that they had scored.
• If a selected driver is sick or injured, the player will have whoever the real F1 team replaces him with, until the original driver returns. The replacement driver will assume the same value as the original driver. The system will not replace the driver's name in this situation.
• Should a selected driver not take part at all during the weekend, and a replacement is not found then the driver would be classified as finishing the race last (subject to issues involving other drivers).
• Each player's selections will remain anonymous to the other players until after the 23.59 Friday deadline from which time everyone (including people from other leagues) will be able to see each others selections.