Considering Formula One is home to the best and brightest minds in engineering, mechanics, and more, it comes as no surprise there’s a lot of technical terms used that you may or may never have heard of before.
One of those words you’ll hear during a race is “delta positive.” So, what is it and what does it even mean?
Delta positive is a radio command that instructs drivers to drive SLOWER than the pre-determined lap time/race pace. For example, you’ll hear this in situations where slowing down is a must, such as a virtual safety car (VSC).
Delta Defined
“Delta” refers to a change in quantity compared to a reference.
In Formula One, “delta time” is the difference between a driver’s current lap time and a pre-determined lap time. If a driver’s current lap time is ABOVE the pre-determined lap time, this is “delta positive.” If a driver’s current lap time is BELOW the pre-determined lap time, this is “delta negative.” If a driver’s current lap time is the SAME as the pre-determined lap time, this is “delta zero“. This is extremely rare.
Delta time can be used in many different situations, such as:
- a target qualifying time
- a rival’s lap time
- when VSC is out
Delta time in a race helps teams easily communicate whether a driver is faster or slower than the pre-determined lap time.
Virtual Safety Car 101
It’s not always practical to bring out a safety car during a race when an incident has occurred where drivers need to slow down.
First implemented in 2015, the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) is a mechanism that, when activated, drivers see on digital displays around the circuits as well as their steering wheels. There is a predetermined lap time for each track. This is normally around 30% slower than the “average” lap time for that track, as determined by the FIA.
When the VSC is active, drivers must drive slow enough to ensure they meet that minimum lap time requirement. Each section of the circuit will have a minimum time limit drivers are forced to meet.
This helps keep distance between drivers as well as preventing some from taking advantage of the VSC. If the lap time was for the entire track (versus these individual sections), drivers could essentially drive as fast as possible for most of the lap only to slow down at the end. That wouldn’t be very fair or safe, now would it?
“Keep Delta Positive”
You might have heard teams radio to their drivers to “keep delta positive.” This means they need to have a slower lap time than whatever has been pre-determined.
To avoid giving other drivers an advantage, drivers will try to drive as close as possible to the delta zero time (the same as the pre-determined lap time).
The time in each section of the track MUST be delta positive in order to avoid penalty(ies) or disqualification.
Penalties
If a driver has violated one of the race rules, they usually receive a penalty. Most of these penalties are based on time.
5-second / 10-Second
The driver must wait for an extra 5 or 10 seconds in the pits after making a pit stop. If they receive this penalty but do not need to pit, the extra time is added on to their final time once the race has finished.
Drive-Through
The driver must enter the pit lane, drive through it at the 60 kph speed limit without stopping, and exit the pit lane. This doesn’t slow the driver down much and is typically used for smaller infractions.
Stop-and-Go
For more serious infractions, a driver could be subject to a stop-and-go penalty. The driver must enter the pit lane, park in their pit, and wait there for an amount of time (usually 10 seconds). The pit crew cannot perform any work on the car during this time.
Grid
This penalty will affect the driver’s following race. At the next race, the driver will start further down the grid than where they placed during qualifying. For example, if a driver places third during qualifying but incurs a three-place grid penalty, the driver will start in sixth place for the race on Sunday.
Black Flag
This is the most severe kind of penalty a driver can receive.
An equivalent of a red card in football, the black flag indicates a driver is disqualified with immediate send off. This is used in cases of dangerous driving or other rule violations. It is waved with the driver’s number. Once waved, the driver must immediately go to the pits and exit the race.
The last time a black flag was waved was at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix when the Ferrari of Felipe Massa and Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella passed a red flight while exiting the pits.
One of the most bizarre black flag appearances came in 2019 when Haas actually asked the stewards to show them to their own cars during a practice session at Monaco. They had lost all car-to-pit communications and the drivers were ignoring the pit boards telling them to come back in!
