The Renault European Cup qualifying time is half an hour, just like the previous tour races.
This time, however, all the participants are seasoned drivers who are in no rush to leave the paddock, nor is there any queue in the pit lane.
Instead, they're waiting for drivers from other teams to first take two laps on the track before starting their own flying laps for the qualifying session.
This involves strategic battles in Formula racing, commonly referred to in F1 as "outlap timing".
Many might not understand why the qualifying session is just thirty minutes long, making it seemingly imperative to start running on the track as soon as possible.
On one hand, running more laps can help warm up one's feel.
On the other hand, if the performance is poor, there's plenty of time to try again.
If it's too late to leave the pit, and the feeling comes out or the lap time is unsatisfactory, there might not be enough time to push for another lap.
