17 replies to this topic

[F355CHALLENGE]

I know it's the backup car, why the big deal over who gets it, don't they use more than one back up car. And why is it called the T car?

Thanks,

Jon

[fifi]

t car usually mean training car i think (or could be test car)

well the big deal is say there is a massive accident ala Spa 98 and both cars are wiped out, only 1 can make the restart, now whoever the spare is set up for would get it,

think its to do with costs and space the only reason they only take 1 car

[HP]

The T-car is setup for one particular driver, depending on the team policies, that may alternate from race to race, or set apart for the driver leading in the championship, or contractually assigned to one driver. Besides the setup, if the situation arises that both cars are damaged (start crash for example), then the driver "owning" the T-car will get the T-car, while the other driver has possibly to sit out, if the car can't be fixed quickly enough.

Why only three? I just know that there isn't more space in the garage available, but there might be rules regarding this too, and I'm sure someone here would know.

[HP]

Here are the FIA regulations regarding spare car.

SPARE CAR
86) A competitor may use several cars for practice and the race provided that :
a) he has no more than four cars available for use at any one time:
b) he uses no more than two cars for free practice sessions on each of the two practice days held under
Article 115a) and b);
c) he uses no more than three cars during qualifying practice;
d) they are all of the same make and were entered in the Championship by the same competitor,
e) they have been scrutineered in accordance with these Sporting Regulations,
f) each car carries its driver's race number.
87) No change of car is permitted after the start of the race. Any driver wishing to change car must have
got out of his original car and left the grid before the 15 second signal which immediately precedes the start.
88) A change of car will be deemed to have taken place once a driver is seated in his new car and such
changes may only take place in the pit lane.

[Rene]

Originally posted by F355CHALLENGE
why is it called the T car?

T stands for 'Trainer' its a classic F1 term which just stuck....

[AyePirate]

[kouks]

The reason Rubens has the T car is because now that MS has won the WDC and he wants some tea while cruising in 1st place Rubens must get in the T car and deliver.

[Bono]

AywPirate

That is soooo funny!!!

[Peter Perfect]

Originally posted by HP
Here are the FIA regulations regarding spare car.

SPARE CAR
86) A competitor may use several cars for practice and the race provided that :
a) he has no more than four cars available for use at any one time:
b) he uses no more than two cars for free practice sessions on each of the two practice days held under
Article 115a) and b);
c) he uses no more than three cars during qualifying practice;
d) they are all of the same make and were entered in the Championship by the same competitor,
e) they have been scrutineered in accordance with these Sporting Regulations,
f) each car carries its driver's race number.
87) No change of car is permitted after the start of the race. Any driver wishing to change car must have
got out of his original car and left the grid before the 15 second signal which immediately precedes the start.
88) A change of car will be deemed to have taken place once a driver is seated in his new car and such
changes may only take place in the pit lane.

Why don't teams use the spare car until qualifying then?
They always seem to have to mend the drivers car before they can continue with practice, I've never seen them swap to the spare.

[BRG]

T = training. Once upon a time, the T car would carry the same number as the race car, but with the letter T after it - so there would be car 1 and car 1T, and so on. Although the rules about spare or T cars have changed a lot since then, the name has stuck.

[benrapp]

Originally posted by Peter Perfect


Why don't teams use the spare car until qualifying then?
They always seem to have to mend the drivers car before they can continue with practice, I've never seen them swap to the spare.

Race cars are never absolutely identical. If you used the T-car for practice and then transferred the setup to the race car it would not necessarily work as well as it did on the T-car.

[HP]

Originally posted by Peter Perfect


Why don't teams use the spare car until qualifying then?
They always seem to have to mend the drivers car before they can continue with practice, I've never seen them swap to the spare.

The same question came to my mind too.

Here is the answer from the FIA regulations

119) If a car stops during practice it must be removed from the track as quickly as possible so that its
presence does not constitute a danger or hinder other competitors. If the driver is unable to drive the car from a
dangerous position, it shall be the duty of the marshals to assist him.
If any such assistance results in the car being driven or pushed back to the pits the following penalties will be
imposed :
a) during a free practice session the car may not be used again in that session and, if it is used again, the
driver’s fastest qualifying lap time will be deleted ;
b) during the qualifying practice session the driver's fastest lap time from that session will be deleted.
Neither of the above penalties will be imposed if a driver leaves the car under the control of the technical
delegate in the parc fermé.
In the event of a driving infringement during practice, the Stewards may delete any number of qualifying times
from the driver concerned. In this case, a Team will not be able to appeal against the steward's decision.

120) The clerk of the course may interrupt practice as often and for as long as he thinks necessary to clear
the track or to allow the recovery of a car. In the case of free practice only, the clerk of the course with the
agreement of the stewards may decline to prolong the practice period after an interruption of this kind.
Furthermore if, in the opinion of the stewards, a stoppage is caused deliberately, the driver concerned may have
his times from that session cancelled and may not be permitted to take part in any other practice session that day.

121) On both days of practice, all cars abandoned on the circuit during the first free practice session will be
brought back to the pits prior to the start of the second and may be used in that session. No part of a car
abandoned in the parc fermé or on the track may be used until the car is returned to the garage of the relevant
Team.

Some drivers have been seen pushing their cars back to the pits, if they stranded not too far away, and chase any track marshall away. Why they don't use the spare car isn't quite clear to me yet.

[Dudley]

Why don't teams use the spare car until qualifying then?
They always seem to have to mend the drivers car before they can continue with practice, I've never seen them swap to the spare.

Because they can't.

Read the rules again, the Competitor you highlight in bold means "The team" not "The driver"

[Don Capps]

Originally posted by BRG
T = training. Once upon a time, the T car would carry the same number as the race car, but with the letter T after it - so there would be car 1 and car 1T, and so on. Although the rules about spare or T cars have changed a lot since then, the name has stuck.

Once upon a time, another term used for practice sessions was "training sessions" which was an apt term quite often in the days of true road circuits which were only available perhaps a few days prior to an event. The larger teams often designated one of the cars for the drivers to use to acquaint themselves with the circuit -- the "training" car or "T-Car."

[rayyu882]

Originally posted by F355CHALLENGE
I know it's the backup car, why the big deal over who gets it, don't they use more than one back up car. And why is it called the T car?

Thanks,

Jon

When the Championship is on the line, teams usually bring more then 1 spare car for EACH drivers, I remember Japan 1999, McLaren and Ferrari both bought 5 cars, both drivers have their spare cars and a 3rd chassis that can build into a 3rd car.

For Ferrari now, they will only need to bring 3 cars till the end of the year which will save them travel expenses...

[wawawa]

Isn't the safety car also called the T-car? I have a clip of (Speed channel?) commentary during the Oz pileup this year, and you can hear the race-director's comment: "OK, lets get the T-car out".

[Peter Perfect]

Originally posted by wawawa
Isn't the safety car also called the T-car? I have a clip of (Speed channel?) commentary during the Oz pileup this year, and you can hear the race-director's comment: "OK, lets get the T-car out".

Could you be miss-hearing it?

Maybe he is saying "Let's get the safety-car out" but he's saying safe more quietly? Then you'd hear "Let's get the ty-car out".

[wawawa]

Went over it again. Its not the race-director, its the Jordan team saying "OK lets get a T-car ready for Giancarlo". Simultaneously, the commentator is talking about the saefty car, so I got a bit