For anyone that is new to F1 and/or is reading my ACOTAR fic and might be interested in learning! If anyone would like to see any terms added just let me know. I am by no means an expert but I will try my best to answer any questions!
Apex - The middle point of the inside line around a corner at which drivers aim their cars.
Black Flag - Used to signal to a driver and team that a penalty has been incurred or that the car has a mechanical problem that the race stewards feel needs investigating immediately. Drivers must pull into the pits when shown a black flag.
Blistering - The consequence of a tyre, or part of a tyre, overheating. Excess heat can cause rubber to soften and break away in chunks from the body of the tyre. See below.
Bottoming - When a car's chassis hits the track surface as it runs through a sharp compression and reaches the bottom of its suspension travel.
Camber - The angle at which a tyre leans into or away from the car relative to the vertical axis. Engineers will vary camber to improve a car's handling characteristics.
Chicane - A tight sequence of corners in alternate directions. Usually inserted into a circuit to slow the cars, often just before what had been a high-speed corner. See below.
Clean air - Air that isn't turbulent, and offers optimum aerodynamic conditions, as experienced by a car at the head of the field.
Dirty air - As air passes over a Formula 1 car's surfaces it produces a wake of turbulent air that hampers the aerodynamic flow of cars directly behind it. This wake can be of benefit to a following car on the straight, as the car in front is effectively punching a hole in the air and doing more work.
Downforce - The aerodynamic force that is applied in a downwards direction as a car travels forwards. This is harnessed to improve a car's traction and its handling through corners.
Drive through penalty - One of two penalties that can be handed out at the discretion of the Stewards whilst the race is still running. Drivers must enter the pit lane, drive through it complying with the speed limit, and re-join the race without stopping.
Driver’s Championship - The driver with the most points at the end of the season under the championship rules and based on the F1 points system for that year is the F1 world champion.
DRS (Drag Reduction System) - also known as adjustable rear wings. Activating this system assists with overtaking when certain conditions are met on track. See below.
Energy Recovery System (ERS) - A system that captures waste heat from the turbocharger and energy from braking to propel the car.
FIA - Initialism of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, an international association for motoring and motor racing.
Flat spot - The term given to the area of a tyre that is worn heavily on one spot after a moment of extreme braking or in the course of a spin. This ruins its handling, often causing severe vibration, and may force a driver to pit for a replacement set of tyres.
Gravel trap - A bed of gravel on the outside of corners designed with the aim of bringing cars that fall off the circuit to a halt.
Grid - The area where cars are set into a grid formation in order to start the race.
Halo - a driver crash-protection system used in open-wheel racing series, which consists of a curved bar placed to protect the driver's head. See below.
Hot Laps - a lap of the circuit in which the driver does a complete circuit of the track in free practice or qualifying. Typically used to refer to a driver pushing the car to 100% for a lap in order to set the fastest possible lap time.
Oversteer - When a car's rear end doesn't want to go around a corner and tries to overtake the front end as the driver turns in towards the apex. This often requires opposite-lock to correct, whereby the driver turns the front wheels into the skid.
Overtaking - When one driver passes another and gains a position in the race.
Paddock - An enclosed area behind the pits in which the teams keep their transporters and motor homes. There is no admission to the public.
Parc Ferme - A fenced-off area into which cars are driven after qualifying and the race, where no team members are allowed to touch them except under the strict supervision of race stewards.
Pit - An area of track separated from the start/finish straight by a wall, where the cars are brought for new tyres and fuel during the race, or for set-up changes in practice, each stopping at their respective pit garages. See below for a view of a pit area.
Pit wall - Where the team owner, managers and engineers spend the race, usually under an awning to keep sun and rain off their monitors. Monitors show race data such as tire wear, weather conditions, and sensor outputs.
Points - Points are awarded to the top 10 finishing drivers in a race. First place receives 25 points, second place receives 18 points, third place receives 12, ect.
Pole (Pole position) - The first place on the starting grid, as awarded to the driver who recorded the fastest lap time in qualifying.
Powertrain - The term used to describe the entire system providing an F1 car's power. The powertrain (or power unit as it is sometimes known) comprises of the engine, two Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) and an Energy Store.
Qualifying - The knock-out session on Saturday in which the drivers compete to set the best time they can in order to determine the starting grid for the race.
Red Flag - This flag stops the race when weather makes it impossible to continue or there is a safety situation such as a bad crash.
Retirement - When a car has to drop out of the race because of an accident or mechanical failure.
Safety car - The course vehicle that is called from the pits to run in front of the leading car in the race in the event of a problem that requires the cars to be slowed.
Stop-go penalty - A penalty given that involves the driver calling at his pit and stopping for 10 seconds - with no refuelling or tyre-changing allowed.
Race incident - A racing incident is an accident that is a clear and inevitable consequence of racing itself. i.e. an accident that results from the fact that neither cars nor drivers can ever be 100% perfect.
Racing Line - In motorsport, the racing line or simply "the line" is the optimal path around a race course.
Understeer - Where the front end of the car doesn't want to turn into a corner and slides wide as the driver tries to turn in towards the apex.
Yellow flag - his is held out when there is a slight hazard in the area, such as a car parked just off the track that has not yet been fully removed. No overtaking is allowed under a yellow flag.
Most of the above terms can be found on the official Formula1 website.
