Scrutineering and weighing
A team of specially appointed scrutineers has the power to check cars
at any point during a Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they fully
comply with technical and safety regulations.
Every car is
initially examined on the Thursday of a race meeting (Wednesday at
Monaco) and a car cannot take part in the event until it has passed
scrutineering. A car must be re-examined by scrutineers if any
significant changes are made to it by the team or if it is involved in
an accident.
In addition to scrutineering, cars are also weighed
throughout the Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they comply with
minimum weight requirements (currently 600kg including driver, except
during qualifying when it is 605kg). During practice and qualifying
cars are called in at random to be weighed. After the race every car
and driver is weighed.
Any competitor failing to meet the
minimum weight may lose their qualifying times or be excluded from the
race results unless this is due to the accidental loss of part of the
car.
