Note: This is intended to only be a basic listing of Formula One terms to aquaint those not familiar with the sport.

Aerodynamics: The science of using airflow over the car to produce downforce, which is the force pressed upon the car from the air and results in the car being pushed onto the road giving better traction and road holding ablities which reesults in lower lap times. Racing aerodynamics are much like reverse airplane wings, not designed to lift but designed to push down.

Air Intake: The open spot above the driver head that is built into the roll hoop. This is used to force air down into the engine to create a better flow of oxygen for the engine.

Apex: The apex is the point of a corner that in most cases, not all, the driver aims to put his car so as to maximize speed through the corner. Some long corners have more than one apex.

Black Flag: Is used to signal to a driver and a team that a penalty has been incured or that the car has a mechanical problem that the race stweards feel needs investigating and the car should pull into the pits immedietly.

Blue Flag: This flag is waved when a car that is much slower than the one behind it is to let the faster car by. This is used primarily for when the lead cars are lapping the field, not for when drivers are fighting for position.

Chassis: The main structural component of a car that everything else is attached to. It provides the rigidity and strength that holds the car together and protects the driver. To compete in Formula One each team must make their own chassis so every team ends up with different looking and different handling cars.

Checkered Flag: This signals the end of the race at either the determined distance or the two hour time limit for a Formula One event.

Green Flag: This used to be used for starting the races but now with the current light system the green flag is now used to signal when a yellow flag area is over and drivers may go back to passing.

Monocoque: A design pioneered by Lotus in the 1960s but now used by all that involves producing a large part of the chassis, if not all, in one piece for extra strength and rigidity while also saving on weight. This is what the driver sits in and what the rest of the car is attached to, think of it as the main body of the car.

Oversteer: When a car, due to imperfect design, setup, or damage, responds too much to the drivers input when he turns the wheel making it very easy to spin the car when entering corners. If the situation is bad enough drivers must slow down to be able to control their car.

Parc Ferme: The place where the cars are parked right after a race so they may be inspected by the officials without the chance of tampering by the teams.

Pit Road: A seperate part of the track where work can be done on the car by the crew. A maximum speed limit on "pit lane", as it is also known, is enforced to ensure mechanics and other peoples safty. A violation of this speed limit results in a ten second penelty, a fine, or both.

Pit Stop: A procedure carried out during a race to change tires, add fuel, and in some cases repair damage. Pit Stop strategy has become very important on detrmining the winner of a race.

Podium: Where the top three finishers are awarded their trophies. A podium finish is when one finishes in the top three at the end of a Grand Prix.

Pole Position: The number one starting postition on the grid achieved by setting the fasted time in qualifying.

Race Stewards: The officials who run the race and decide such things as penalties, leniancy on the 107% Rule, speeding violations in the pits, and other such things.

Red Flag: This falg stops the race when weather makes it impossible to run or there is a safety situation such as a bad crash. If a red flag is thrown due to a crash before the first lap of the event is completed then the race starts completely over as if the first attempt at a start never happened. This allows all drivers that were involved the chance to start again.

Roll Hoop: The somewhat triangular shap above the drivers head that protects the driver from being crushed in the event of a roll over.

Safety Car: This is used instead of a red flag when the stewards wish to slow down the race due to safety reasons or weather. Under the safety car the cars continue to move in a line behind the car and then when the track is safe again they have a rolling start.

Sidepods: These are the two lower areas on either side of the car that house the electronics and radiators in the car.

Skirts: Legal in the 1970s and 1980s these were long strips of material that hung down off the side of the cars and actually rubbed the ground during some seasons, before rules specified minnimum heights. The presence of these devices greatly affected airflow over the underside of the car and would create almost a vaccum underneith it sucking it down to the road.

Slipsream: The wake of air left behind a Formula One car when it drives that is less dense than the air infornt of the car. This less dense air is easier to drive through for a following car and thus by riding in somebody's slipstream one can gain speed over the car they follow setting them up for a passing attempt into the next corner.

Tear Off: A thin layer of a type of plastic that is placed in layers upon the visor of a drivers helmet and each layer can be removed by the driver one at a time when it becomes to dirty to see clearly what is ahead.

Tire Compounds: Differnt construction of tires that result in different lengths of time the tire can be used and different amounts of grip they provide. Soft tires for example will not last as long as medium or hard tires under race conditions but will provide the best grip over a short period of time resulting in hopefully faster lap times but possibly more pit stops. Tire choice is importand for detrmining the pit stop strategy of a car.

Traction Control: The use of onboard computers in the car to control the movement of the suspension and the engine controls to maximize speed and prevent the car from losing grip. It is also called "launch control" because is elimates wheelspin at the start of the race and litteraly rockets the car forward.

Understeer: When a car, due to either imperfect design, setup, or damage, refuses to turn as much as the driver wishes when turning the wheel. This means the driver must slow down and work harder in the corners to make his car turn in to the corner the way he wishes it to.

White Flag: Signals one lap left in the event.

Wing Car: A term originated during the eras of aerodynamic experimentation to describe a well designed car that took into full effect aerodynamic principals giving it superior capabilities on track.

Yellow Flag: This is held out when there is a slite hazard in the area such as a car parked off in the grass that has not been moved off yet. When it is waving then there is a more serious problem such as a lot of debris on track or a damaged car. No passing is allowed under areas where the yellow is being displayed for safety reasons.

107% Rule: This rule is used to set the pace a car must run in qualifying to start a race. All cars must run a time within 107% of the pole sitters time or they will, in most cases unless the race stewards decide otherwise, be unable to start the race.