Why do race cars swerve before a race

You'll see Formula 1 drivers doing the same thing with their cars before the race restart or when following the safety car. Although it does look quite weird for someone who is not very familiar with the sport, it is quite common, and there is a very logical explanation behind it.

NASCAR drivers swerve before the race and during safety car situations in order to keep their tires warm and ideal, something not possible at the lower speeds in which cars drive in those situations. Warm tires have more grip than cold tires, which naturally makes the car faster and easier to drive. In addition to swerving for the tires, drivers may also be steering and breaking a lot. That certainly helps with the tire temperature, but it also warms up the brakes, an important part of the car during the race.

While other motor-sport categories have tire warmers and other techniques to warm up tires before a race starts, NASCAR doesn't make use of such things, as they don't want any drivers to have any advantages for artificial reasons.

The other big reason why drivers swerve is because of something they call marbles. Marbles are little rubber pieces, debris that come out of the tires as they get worn out during the race. As drivers race and the tires get heated, their chemical composition changes, which causes molecules to realign and marbles to form. The main purpose of swerving back and forth before race start is for the driver to prepare their tires for the race , as well as other reasons such as keeping their tires free of debris.

Zig zagging like this during the formation is more important than many realize and is not usually performed just for fun, as many may think. The usual place to see F1 drivers swerving is during the formation lap before the race begins. This practice may seem unnecessary to some, and others may think that the drivers are just bored and swerving their cars to have some fun.

Still, this motion during the slow formation lap is vital for the cars and can determine the outcome of the start of the race. For the individual driver, the way a race starts may directly affect the way the race ends; therefore, a good start is crucial for every driver. The zig-zagging that happens before the race is more important than many realize.

Below are some of the reasons why F1 drivers swerve during the formation lap and why you may see a car swerve during the heat of the race:. The most crucial reason why F1 drivers swerve during the formation lap is to maintain heat in their tires.

Formula 1 cars are designed for optimum performance within exact parameters. The tires on these cars have to be within a certain temperature range for optimum traction and maximum performance. If the tires become too cool, it can lead to a poor start for the driver , compromising the outcome of the race. This is why heating the tires and maintaining heat in the tires is so vital for F1 drivers.

Swerving the car back and forth at low speeds helps to keep heat in the tires, keeping the rubber soft , allowing the tires to maintain optimum grip for the start of the race.

The swerving transfers the weight of the F1 car from side to side, which puts stress on the tires , which translates to heat in the tires. It is common to see the drivers braking hard during this lap, as this also heats the tires and the brakes , which also have to be at a certain temperature for optimum efficiency.

This means that the tires tend to pick up a lot of debris from the race track during the formation lap before the tires are at their optimum temperature. The tires pick up debris such as small pieces of rubber left behind from previous races , pebbles, sand, and dirt from the track.

Even a tiny, sharp shard of metal could cause enough damage to take several drivers out of the race. Approaching at an angle, however, allows the marbles to pass beneath without as much risk. While the inside lane of a NASCAR track has several strategic benefits, the most significant advantage of them all might be that the outside lanes tend to be covered in marbles that could take drivers out of the race, according to How Stuff Works.

Occasionally drivers will use its space to their advantage. Still, if every driver drove over the marbles without taking into account the debris that awaits them, the results could be deadly. Swerving is essential for a variety of reasons. The outside lane can cause spin-outs and crashes, or it can cause the driver to pick up marbles on the tires.

Because the debris is from the tires itself, the track makes a difference for the amount of marbles formed on the track. Asphalt that is older and more warn has more aggregate sticking out of the top rougher, more rocks on the surface of the asphalt. These rocks are what scrapes the hot rubber off of the tire. The abrasiveness of the asphalt itself makes for a higher production of marbles. That makes staying in the groove the inside lane more important in these races than in other races. This one is an easy answer.

The word has stuck, even though no one knows when it was first coined. Nor are they placed there to make the lives of the drivers harder or to make the sport more entertaining. They look and feel like marbles made of rubber, and driving over them is like driving over marbles. Water on the track affects the race beyond marble production.