Or do they only practice in the simulator?
Also do reserve drivers get to drive real cars on the track? Or is it just the sim for them?
Teams are not allowed to drive their cars on track outside of a few set moments. There’s pre-season testing, a few days post-season, and that’s about it. Although a few weeks back there were extra tests for the new tires.
It takes a few years (three, I believe) for cars to become freely available to teams. At promotional events you’ll see Red Bull drive a repainted 2019 car, for example.
That’s interesting, so generally drivers just practice using a simulator?
Yup! That’s also why it takes a while for rookies to get up to speed. F1 cars are not easy to drive and there’s little opportunity for practice
Teams are not allowed to do anything during the summer break. So everything closes down to make sure everyone gets at least a couple of weeks off during the year.
even aside from summer breaks the cars can’t really ever be driven outside of official GP sessions, with some very minimal exceptions.
