Davidson, Anthony
Former Minardi, BAR and Super Aguri driver, currently employed an analyst on Sky Sports F1 and a tremendously nice bloke.
December
The month of the year when F1 goes into hibernation. Except, that is, if you work in F1.
De Cesaris, Andrea
Journeyman Italian racer of the 1980s and 1990s who had the unfortunate distinction of being the driver to have competed in the most races - a mammoth 208 - without registering a victory. Died aged 55 in October 2014 after a road accident.
Degradation
The term used to describe the wearing down of a tyre's tread and bulk, which in turn raises lap times. When a tyre degrades and loses performance to the extent that attempting to carry on until the end of the race would lose more time than would be lost changing tyres, a driver will then pit.
Delamination
The term that became a buzzword during the opening stages of the 2013 season when Pirelli's tyres repeatedly suffered cuts and the rubber folded in on itself. According to the dictionary, delaminate officially means 'to split into thin layers'.
De la Rosa, Pedro
Veteran and persistent Spanish driver, who raced on and off between 1999 and 2011, returned in 2012 with HRT, before spending two years as Ferrari's development driver.
Dennis, Ron
McLaren group chairman and team boss between 1981 and 2009. After several years away from the paddock, Dennis led a 'coup' at the underperforming team to return as chief executive in 2014. A renowned wordsmith, Dennis is rightly credited with being the founder and inspiration of the language of 'Ronspeak'. See also: Ronspeak.
Development race
The never-ending quest of the teams to improve performance at a faster rate than their rivals. As a general rule of thumb, particularly with the frontrunners, F1 cars will end the season substantially faster than they were at the start.
Diffuser
The complicated component located at the rear of the car's floor or undertray that redirects air flow in order to improve downforce.
Di Resta, Paul
Italian-sounding former Force India driver who is actually Scottish and therefore British when doing well. Returned to DTM in 2014 after losing his F1 seat. Returned to the F1 paddock in 2015 with Sky F1.
Dirty side, The
The side of the grid away from the racing line where the grip levels are invariably lower. See also: Clean side, The.
Double diffuser
The aerodynamic concept which came to prominence at the start of the 2009 season when three teams - Brawn, Toyota and Williams - exploited a loophole in the rules to use a small inlet as a second diffuser to increase downforce and thus reduce their lap times.
Domenicali, Stefano
One of the grid's most genial and affable figures who fell on his sword after a lifetime at Ferrari following the team's miserable start to 2014's new turbo era. Now combines heading up the FIA's single-seater commission with a business position at Audi.
Donington Park
The would-be home of the British GP for 10 years onwards from 2010 had it not failed to secure the required funds to host the event. The circuit does, however, still hold the distinction of staging the rain-drenched 1993 European GP when Ayrton Senna produced one of the most famous opening laps of all time.
Double points
The controversial and unprecedented regulation change imposed for the 2014 season which saw points doubled up at the season finale in Abu Dhabi in a bid to ensure the title went down to the wire. That meant 25 points for a win became 50, 18 became 36 for second, 15 to 30 for third...you get our drift. But so unpopular was the rule change that it lasted just one season - we hope.
Downforce
The aerodynamic force applied in a downwards direction when a car is running at speed. Performance device/excuse that drivers never have too much of, except for the rest of the time when they have too much.
Drag
The measure of the air resistance of a moving object (see also: aerodynamics). How 'slippery' a shape is will be expressed as a co-efficient, Cx. A flat plane has a Cx of 1. The lowest-drag road cars have a Cx of less than 0.3. An F1 car with its open wheels and wings has a Cx of around 0.75. Simples.
Drive-Through, A
The punishment imposed by stewards during the race that sees the penalised driver crawl along the pitlane at the allotted speed limit. Given that the length of the pitlane, particularly the pit entries and exit, varies from track to track, the extent of the punishment is circuit specific but is generally reckoned to cost around 20 to 25 seconds.
DRS
The driver-activated rear-wing device introduced in 2011 to reduce downforce and drag in order to give pursuing cars extra speed to overtake. Also known as 'The Drag Reduction System' - but only if you prefer to talk in geekspeak.
DRS Detection Line
The designated line - or lines, if a circuit has more than one DRS zone - that measures the gap between cars in order to determine whether the pursuing vehicle can activate its DRS on account of being within one second of the car in front.
DRS Zone
The designated position - or positions - on each race track where the DRS is activated so long as the pursuing car is in within one second of its prey when they pass the DRS detection line. The rear wing automatically returns to its default position when the driver brakes for the corner.
More from The F1 Dictionary
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