Track Evolution
VerifiedHow a circuit gets faster across a weekend as rubber builds up and the surface cleans.
A 'green' track at the start of practice is slow and slippery. As cars lap, they lay down rubber and sweep away dust, raising grip, so lap times tumble through the weekend even if nothing about the cars changes. This is 'track evolution', or 'rubbering in'.
It complicates comparisons: a time set on Friday isn't directly comparable to one on Saturday, and the last runners in qualifying often benefit from the cleanest, fastest track.