Formula 4 Season 1

Everybody will be participating in the Drivers Championship, with the driver with the most points being declared the Champion.

Drivers can also team up and take part in the Team Championship. If a driver scores points then this will be added on to their team's score. The team with the highest points is the Teams Champion.

There will be no drop weeks for this first shorter season, there will be next season.

Drivers who finish within 90% of the race distance will be classified and eligible to score full Championship points. Drivers that are classified within 75% race distance are eligible to score half points.

Feature Race:
1st - 32 pts
2nd - 28 pts
3rd - 25 pts
4th - 22 pts
5th - 20 pts
6th - 18 pts
7th - 16 pts
8th - 14 pts
9th - 12 pts
10th - 11 pts
11th - 10 pts
12th - 9 pts
13th - 8 pts
14th - 7 pts

15th - 6 pts
16th - 5 pts
17th - 4 pts
18th - 3 pts
19th - 2 pts
20th - 1 pt
21st-36th - 0 pts

*One bonus point for pole position

**One bonus point for fastest lap

Sprint Race:
1st - 20pts
2nd - 17 pts
3rd - 15 pts
4th - 13 pts
5th - 12 pts
6th - 11 pts
7th - 10 pts
8th - 9 pts
9th - 8 pts
10th - 7 pts
11th - 6 pts
12th - 5 pts
13th - 4 pts
14th - 3 pts
15th - 2 pts

16th - 1 pt
17th-36th - 0 pts

*One bonus point for pole position
**One bonus point for fastest lap

Team Rules:
Upon registering, drivers can elect to race as part of a team or run as a 'Privateer' entry. This must be specified as part of their registration. Teams that register with only one driver are still eligible to score points in the Team Standings.

There can only be a maximum of two drivers per team entry at any one time. Reserve drivers are permitted to run in a team providing they are one of the two nominated drivers. If a team has changed their driver line-up then they must inform the iRacing Coordinators.

In the event of more than two drivers wishing to represent a team, drivers are encouraged to form 'B' or second teams if they wish to score points in the Team Standings.

Race sessions will be based on the following format this season:
- 70 minute practice beginning from 18:50 (UK time)
- 3 lap/10 minute solo qualifying beginning from 20:00 (UK time)
- 40 minute feature race beginning from 20:12 approx (UK time)

NEW SESSION

-  5 minute practice beginning 20:58 approx (UK time)
-  1 lap/5 minute solo qualifying beginning from 21:03 (UK time)
-  20 minute sprint race beginning from 21:09 approx (UK time).

Race distances will be based on time, due to the structure of the race night.

Weather setting are as follows
Set Weather - Generate Weather: Enabled
Dynamic Sky: Enabled
Time of Day: As per official season

Starting track state will be automatically generated, which usually ends up as Moderately Low Usage.

There will be one mandatory pit-stop for fuel in the feature races. There will be a fuel cap for the feature races of TBD. The sprint races will have no mandatory pit-stop for tyres or fuel.

Feature Race:
If 15 incidents are reached, you will be made to serve a drive through penalty.
If 21 incidents are reached, you will be disqualified.

Sprint Race:

If 13 incidents are reached, you will be automatically disqualified.

While there are no rules against having fun with your car after the race has finished, getting incident points even after crossing the line while the race is still going on is not advised,

The series will run a fixed setup with a fuel cap. The setup will likely be the same as the one given to us by iRacing.

You should sign up to the league with the intention of participating in every single race. However, circumstances may prevent you from making some races, in which case it's very important to follow the following procedure:

If you are unable to attend a race, you have to give notice for your absence 1 hour before the event session starts (Friday 17:50 UK time). This is done by signing out on the website calendar page. It's your responsibility to make sure this is done. The reason this notice period is 1 hour is so the coordinators have enough time to let any reserves know there is space to drive.

If you do not do this as a main driver, you will have been declared as an uninformed no-show and given a reprimand. 3 no-show reprimands and you will be removed from the league and not be allowed to be a main driver the following season. You will have to prove your reliability through reserve driver status in that season.

Drivers who need to leave between the feature race and the sprint race must also give a valid reason to the coordinators.

If you have to pull out of the league, you must let the iRacing Team know. If you leave by simply not showing up for the races, you will be placed on the blacklist and not be allowed back into the Championship in the future. The same goes for reserve drivers who are inactive for a long period of time without giving a reason.

If you are removed from the league, you will be placed on the blacklist. You could also be placed on the blacklist for leaving the league without notice or without a proper reason. Drivers who are placed on the blacklist are generally not allowed back into the Championship, except in exceptional circumstances.

In some cases, drivers may be given a second chance if the admins deem there is a reason to believe the driver has changed for the better. However, this will usually come with stricter conditions, and getting removed for a second time will mean permanent exclusion from the leagues, no exceptions.

Drivers can call for an investigation into an incident if they feel another driver has broken the racing etiquette rules. This can range from causing a collision to over-aggressive driving.

It is important for those creating an investigation to give as much detail as possible - what lap did the incident take place? Who were the drivers involved etc?

Stewards enquiries can be made here, (as long as the results have been posted) and must be posted within 24 hours of the race having taken place.

Stewards panel incidents:

From the start of the season, stewards will not pro-actively look into any notable incidents that are caused on Lap 1, unless the stewards deem Lap 1 incidents are happening too often, or it involves the same drivers.

For all incidents, potential stewards penalties include;
a warning for actions that are deemed to have the potential to cause an incident but in this instance did not,
a time penalty being applied to the driver's race time, (0-30 secs) & (1-3 points)
a qualifying ban for the next race they attend in place of a time penalty as the accused driver DNFd from that race (1-3 points)
a forced pit-lane start for the next race they attend (3 points)
a disqualification from the race results, (3-4 points)
a race ban (4 points)
or in rare cases a temporary or permanent ban from the Championship - depending on the severity and volume of the driver's indiscretion.

The Penalty Point System allows for additional discipline of drivers who consistently break driving etiquette throughout seasons. This is to ensure drivers feel inclined to maintain a respectful driving standard.
Penalty points can be handed out alongside one of the penalties listed in 6.2

For example common penalties may include but are not limited to
Driver X is given a 10 second time penalty & 2 penalty points for causing a collision. These are the reasons etc.

All drivers will have a penalty points limit of 12 on their license, at which point their position in the league will be put under review. On the way there though there will be certain thresholds, which if met will result in penalties. These are as follows

4 points - qualifying ban for the next race they attend
7 points - pit-lane start for both races on the night
9 points - ban from both races on the night
12 points - position in the league put under review and is likely to lead to expulsion