No major changes to the rules for the 2024 season... Key highlights in Bold text below! There is still the challenge of a level 6 star rating, as well as no level 1 skilled drivers or teams which will pose a challenge for selections. Remember, it's not possible to own both drivers from the same team - So you can't put all your eggs in one basket...

This is the 21st year of the F1 Dream Team and there are still four Team Principals who retain a 100% entry record... but will they make the grid for the 2023 season? The entry fee for 2023 has been waived during these challenging times and achievements will be rewarded with appropriate rave reviews and entry into the Hall of Fame!

The competition is open to all current and former KCC, Jacobs, Telent and Amey colleagues as well as their families. Only one entry per person... and credentials of any new participants will be verified, although the more the merrier - it will be great to see some new faces to contest the Rookie of the Year title!

Each team selection must comprise:

⇒ Five drivers with a combined Star Rating totalling at least 12 but no more than 15;

⇒ No two drivers from the same team;

⇒ Three teams with a combined Star Rating totalling at least 8 but no more than 10.

Submissions will be entered in order of arrival using the online entry form - which will validate your selection and prevent duplicate entries during the registration process. This will ensure that no two teams have the same composition at the outset - although identical squads may arise during the season... either by accident or design! If there are problems with the entry form please email f1dt@btinternet.com.

The main opportunity for glory is to top the Championship table but other honours exist including the European, Global and Commonwealth Leagues. There will of course be the Turner Prize for under-performance - in memory of the late John Turner (4 times winner of the wooden spoon) and the Cup and Saucer knockout competitions. The referee may also award spot prizes for achievements considered to be particularly noteworthy or spectacular... good, bad or ugly!

Points will be awarded after the race based upon the official documentation published on the FIA website, allowing for any post-race penalties so may not necessarily be the result at the chequered flag. Further changes to the scoring may be applied at the referee's discretion, based upon disciplinary/appeal hearings, until midday on the Thursday following the race.

If a race is red-flagged and stopped short of the full race distance, the scheduled number of laps will remain as originally intended for scoring purposes. Any changes to the points awarded by the FIA will be applied during scoring and will be rounded up to the nearest whole value.

Should a driver be replaced (either permanently or temporarily) due to injury/illness/incompetence, the new driver will automatically assume their accumulated points and continue to score on their behalf. The replacement will also assume the same Star Rating as the former driver. Should two drivers swap teams mid-season, there is the potential for illegal squads to occur. In this case, Team Principals have a maximum of one race to make a pit stop and legalise their selections; after this time any remaining illegal entries will incur a penalty where only the points for the highest scoring driver from that constructor will score points, i.e. One driver will score zero points. If a team withdraws mid-season, or other complications arise, then these will be considered at that time...

To make team owners consider their options carefully there will be five opportunities during this 24-race season to make up to two modifications to your team on each occasion. You may choose exactly when to make those critical team adjustments... but this year pit stops at consecutive venues will not be permitted, so not changes until after Race 2! Team Principals will retain all the points won to date by their current team, i.e. they will not retrospectively be awarded the points earned by their new signings. At the pit-stop duplication of the team selections made by one or more of their rivals may occur and are permitted. Any changes must still comply with the five drivers and three teams rules, as well as the total Star Ratings; modifications should be submitted using the online system but in the event of technical problems please email any changes to f1dt@btinternet.com by the deadline for the race as shown on the home page.

After careful consideration, the Jump Start feature as introduced last season has been removed due to complexity of implementing the single races changes - it may reappear next year following a rethink!

The Cup and Saucer tournaments will take place at the nominated events - The highest scoring team from each match will progress to the next round in the Cup and the lowest scoring team from each match will progress to the next round of the Saucer. Should more than 32 teams participate, the First Round matches will become 'Pools' of three or more in order to accommodate everyone - the highest (or lowest) from each 'Pool' will progress accordingly.

There is of course the Route 66 Challenge... a straightforward contest where what counts is high-scoring consistency. Those 'feast or famine' Team Principals and serious Turner contenders will find survival more difficult, but maybe not impossible. In the first round every entry that scores at least 66% of the highest F1DT score for the race will remain in contention; those failing to achieve this bar will be eliminated. For the second race the bar is set at 67% (66%+1%), while it's 68% at the third event, etc. - all the way up to the last race of the year wherever it may be! The last Team Principal standing wins, which may be well before the end of the season - time will tell. In the event of multiple squads remaining in the Route 66 Challenge after the final race, the Team Principal with the highest minimum percentage will take the honours, i.e. the lowest range of percentages! The elimination scores will be calculated by rounding up, so if the threshold is 364.7 then scores of 365 or more are through... it's easier than it sounds!

Following the successful introduction in 2023, the Sprint Finish league makes a return for the six events in 2024. This is scored separately to the usual races, as detailed on the Scoring tab.

The referee for the 2024 season will be yours truly (Der Webmeister) and all his decisions will be final - be warned!