FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[MattMK45]

The F1 website nor the BBC commentary team make it clear why a race stops at 2 hours. I always assumed because of noise and chemical pollution but is there a definitive answer?

[myownalias]

I believe it's related to fatigue of the driver; it's not like endurance races where there are multiple drivers.

[MattMK45]

I believe it's related to fatigue of the driver; it's not like endurance races where there are multiple drivers.

Ah thats true. Didn't think about that.

[Robert12010]

The F1 website nor the BBC commentary team make it clear why a race stops at 2 hours. I always assumed because of noise and chemical pollution but is there a definitive answer?

the reason is that the 2 hour time limit is in place because thats what the FIA rules say

[darwin dali]

I'm pretty sure it's got more to do with TV...

[f1ea]

I'm pretty sure it's got more to do with TV...

yes
TV rights.

[Big Azza]

And viewer rights. I will not watch Bahrain for 6 hours.

I think 2 hours is just about right for a race; sometimes that's a bit too long in my opinion. It gets to be too much time to commit oneself too, which is why it's to difficult for me to watch Bathurst every year.

[texasmr2]

And viewer rights. I will not watch Bahrain for 6 hours.

[Robert12010]

And viewer rights. I will not watch Bahrain for 6 hours.

add me to that list!

[LifeW12]

The two hour rule came about after the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix took 2 and a half hours to complete (it was wet) and they thought that two hours seemed a resonable time

The 305km distance was the norm at that time but of course races in the 50's ran for up to 4 hours.

[vaptin]

It's for scheduling purposes from the Tv rights, of course delying the race start can increase the time above two hours in real terms.

[kaizensuru]

I also heard that the 2 hours limit was for the safety reasons, drivers getting exhausted, etc. Maybe it is a bit of everything, TV, drivers exhaustion, etc.