The F1 dictionary: P

Paddock, The

Typically an area behind the pits. Location of team hospitality suites and where the majority of media work, wheeler-dealing and all-round general showing off takes place during a race weekend. 

Palmer, Jolyon

Up-and-coming British driver who won the 2014 GP2 Series and, after a year on the sidelines and in the Lotus garage, will drive for Renault in 2016 alongside Kevin Magnussen.

Panis, Olivier

Former Ligier, Prost and Toyota driver who remains the last Frenchman to win a race in F1, at the crazy Monaco GP of 1996.

Patrese, Riccardo

Italian former race-winning driver who for over a decade held the record for the most grands prix starts in history before his tally was surpassed by Rubens Barrichello.

Parc ferme

The secure area, usually at the top of the pitlane, where cars are stationed between the end of qualifying and race day, and then again after the race, for the stewards of the event to complete scrutineering checks.

Parc ferme conditions

The situation all cars are put in between the start of Saturday's qualifying session and the warm-up lap on Sunday when mechanics can only carry out a limited and tightly-controlled number of checks and changes.

Parr, Adam

Former Williams chairman and the man once considered Frank Williams' heir apparent.

Pen, The

Cordoned off paddock area where drivers gather after qualifying and the race to subject themselves to the world's media. 'Can you recover and perhaps finish on the podium Kimi?' 'I don't know, but we'll try.'

Penalties 

Sanctions of various severity open to race stewards for penalising driver indiscretions over a race weekend. Includes five-second time penalty, 10-second time penalty and drive-through penalty. 

Perez, Sergio

Young Mexican driver who drives alongside Nico Hulkenberg at Force India after being dropped after a single season at McLaren.

Peterson, Ronnie

Aka 'Super Swede'. 1971 World Championship runner-up, winner of 10 GPs, owner of a spectacular driving style and proof that there was a time when sideways was actually faster. Died after a startline crash at 1978 Italian GP.

Pic, Charles

Shaggy-haired French driver who raced for backmarkers Marussia and Caterham in 2012 and 2013 respectively before switching to test driver duties at Lotus.

Pinkham, Natalie

One half of Sky Sports F1's roving pitlane reporting team, and presenter of The F1 Midweek Report, with radar-like qualities for tracking down drivers who are in the mood for a chat. See also: Kravitz, Ted; Pitlane.

Piquet, Nelson

F1's original Piquet and the world champion on three occasions in the 1980s, winning 23 races along the way.

Piquet Jr, Nelson

The younger Piquet of F1 repute who was a central figure in the 2008 Crashgate plot in Singapore when he deliberately crashed his Renault to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race. Initially attempted to rebuild his career in the American NASCAR series before finding title-winning success in Formula E.

Pirelli

F1's sole supplier of tyres since 2011 who have fulfilled their remit of providing rubber that deliberately and rapidly deteriorates with the intention of generating more overtaking and strategic variation. See also: Compounds; Tyres.

Pit board

The object dangled by a team member over the pitwall at the end of each lap that drivers somehow have to try to read whilst popping along at 200mph or so down the pit-straight. Information briefly displayed typically includes position, number of laps and the gaps to the cars in front and behind.

Pitlane

The road located to the side of the pitstraight behind the pitwall where the teams' garages and the pit-stop boxes are situated. Cars are forced to adhere to a strict speed limit through the pitlane during the race weekend. Written as 'pitlane' on Sky Sports F1 just because we think it looks nicer that way.

Pit stop

F1's best display of perpetual motion as mechanics descend on a car in the pitlane to change tyres and, just occasionally, a front wing. If you're good, it takes you about two-and-a-half seconds.

Pitwall

The area situated on the other side of the pitlane from the garages overlooking the track where a team's management and technical team sit with access to a multitude of screens showing live action, data, weather forecasts and the position of the cars on track. And where Christian Horner shakes his foot.

Plank

The name given to the slab of jabroc (that's densified wood laminate to some) fixed to the centre line of a car's floor in order to limit how low the vehicle can run and its aerodynamic forces. As per the regulations, the plank must be at least 9mm at the end of a race, upon pain of disqualification.

Podium

The three-stepped venue for Michael Schumacher's famous star jumps, Sebastian Vettel's 'single-finger victory salute' and Rubens Barrichello's bizarre Norman Wisdom-style stumble. Nonetheless, a good place to be for an F1 driver.

Podium interview

Introduced at 2012 British GP, when Sir Jackie Stewart performed the honours, and a feature ever since, it works best in direct proportion to the random-ness of the celebrity invited to host. Swearing optional.

Pole position

The furthest-forward starting berth on the grid allocated to the driver who has set the fastest qualifying lap in Q3 on the Saturday. See also: Qualifying; Grid.

Pole position trophy

The award introduced from the 2014 season onwards to reward the driver who claims the most pole positions during the year. Slightly bemusingly, no-one seems to know what it looks like.

Port Imperial

The street circuit in New Jersey which was scheduled to host the new Grand Prix of America from...sometime in the future. See also: America; Austin; Circuit of the Americas.

Power unit

The new name for engines - and assorted engine recovery systems - from 2014. We're not expecting it to catch on.

Practice

The first three on-track sessions of a grand prix weekend where teams tend to focus on set-up and tyre work in preparation for qualifying and the race. Officially called 'free practice', the first two sessions take place on a Friday morning and Friday afternoon respectively and run for 90 minutes apiece. The third practice session, ahead of qualifying on a Saturday morning, is 60 minutes long.

Prost, Alain

Unfairly famous for being Ayrton Senna's nemesis rather than as the winner of four world titles - the second of which in 1986 was arguably the last claimed by a driver clearly not in possession of the best car in the field. Nicknamed 'The Professor' on account of his calculating approach, the gloves came off when Senna joined the Frenchman at McLaren, with his career then extended in stop-start fashion at Ferrari and Williams.

So what have we forgotten? Let us know with an email to F1Feedback@sky.uk