Determining laps

[Zsolt]

Who determines how many laps are run during the course of a race? What do they look at when determining this? Also, has this changed at all since F1 began?

Who determines how many laps are run during the course of a race? What do they look at when determining this? Also, has this changed at all since F1 began?

The FIA specify that a Grand Prix is run over a distance of 300 kilometres or 2 hours, whichever is shorter.

I think that the only GP that has run for the full 2 hours on more than the very, very rare occasion is Monaco, but without looking at the record books I wouldn't want to be quoted on that.

Not sure if this has always been so, but it has for atleast 30 years.

[Zsolt]

Thanks for the info!

[ChrisS]

The distance of a Grand Prix is the least number of laps which exceeds 305 km, but no race may last for more than two hours,

I'm not sure when these rules came in effect

preF1 rules grand prix races were a minimum of 500km. F1 rules grand prix races since 1948 had a minimum race distance of 300 km or minimum 3 hours