The first qualifying session of the 2025 season is set to be held on March 15 in Melbourne. Drivers will be out on track to secure the highest grid position for the Australian GP on Sunday.
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The qualifying session is held before each race to determine the order in which cars will be lined up at the start of the race on the grid. The fastest qualifier starts at the front, and the slowest at the back.
The drivers run different kinds of laps in a qualifying session. This includes the out lap, the hot lap, and the in lap.
What is an Out Lap in F1?
The out lap is the first lap after the driver leaves the garage. Usually, this is a slow lap, and it helps get the tires and brakes up to the right temperature. An out lap is usually restricted to qualifying as, of course, no one wants to go slow in a race.
It is important to get the tires and brakes up to a proper temperature to churn out optimum performance from these components in the hot lap that follows next. Cold tires do not offer much grip and cold brakes lack the bite to slow down the car.
What is Hot Lap in F1?
Even though the purpose of the out lap is to heat up the tires, the driver does not want to put too much temperature. The reason behind that is to keep the tires fresher so as to extract maximum grip from them during the hot lap.
This is why the driver keeps weaving in and out to heat the tires up without wearing them out. They usually accelerate the car in the last corner as they are about to cross the line to enter the hot lap.
A hot lap or a flying lap is one where the driver goes as fast as possible in order to log the fastest time in the timesheets. This determines the starting position of each car in the actual race.
As per the format, each driver gets a chance to proceed to Q2 by landing among the fastest 15 drivers by virtue of the lap time set during a hot lap. The drivers in Q2 then repeat the process to earn a place in Q3, the final session, among the fastest 10 drivers.
A driver can perform more than one hot lap provided there is enough time left in the session. But they must do at least one lap in the first qualifying sessions to avoid getting placed last on the starting grid for the race on Sunday. A Hot Lap is also known as a Push Lap.
What is In Lap in Formula 1?
The In Lap is the lap that happens immediately after the hot lap. The driver takes the car slowly back to the pit with a focus on reducing the tire wear and cooling down the brakes.
It is usually a slow lap that drivers run before they head into the pit during qualifying and practice sessions. The drivers refrain from going unnecessarily fast and pay extra attention to make sure they do not impede drivers on hot laps.
The point of In Lap during qualifying is to cool down the brakes and the tires and cause minimal wear so that the tires can be used either for the next session or for the race.
During races, the In-Lap is usually the push lap. Drivers go as fast as they can during the In Lap before they head into the pit for a tire change.
Since they are already getting the tire changed, they do not have to worry about the tire wear. The purpose of push/in-lap is also to make up some time before they head into their pit stops.
