Formula one questions on safety car and pit lanes?

Q: Hey, I have always liked Formula 1, but there are a few things that constantly eat at me whenever I watch it: 1) At one point when the safety car is out, drivers are given the instruction: 'Lapped cars may now overtake.' If there is no overtaking allowed, how do cars get lapped in the first place? 2) When do the pit lanes open when the safety car is out, and what if somebody is alreay inside before the SC is deployed- can they get back to their original position and how is this done? 3) When cars exit the pit lanes, do they have to let traffic overtake? If so, in which circumstances are they allowed to drive out/not drive out when cars are approaching? 4) In qualifying, if cars can have as many laps as they want in the time limit, then why do some cars who are not in pole position not begin their laps even if there are only a few seconds left? They are allowed, after all, to complete their lap. Thanks, sorry if they're a bit obvious.

A: 1. Lapped cars are cars which have been passed by the leader prior to the safety car period and are now one lap behind him. They are allowed to overtake cars which have lapped them in order to regain their proper position on the track and free up the leaders for a restart without interference from slower cars. 2. The pit lane opens once all cars have lined up behind the safety car. Any cars which are in the pits at that time will rejoin the field in the place they happen to be in when they exit the pitlane...safety car periods count as part of the race. 3. The car can exit the pitlane at any time except when the red light is shown at the exit. The pitlane is part of the race track and cars are considered to be racing while they are in the pitlane. It is the responsibility of the "lollipop man" to signal the driver that it is safe for him to leave his pit area. Cars exiting the pitlane must stay on the inside of the white line painted on the track after the exit as a safety measure to prevent slow cars veering across the track to block faster ones (as happened in the good old days). 4. It's a question of optimum tyre performance and keeping enough fuel onboard to allow a feasible stint to the first pit stop. No point doing another lap and wasting fuel if you know that your tyres are past their best and you are highly unlikely to improve your time.

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