New to Formula 1?

How a race weekend works

1. 1PracticeUp to three one-hour sessions on Friday and Saturday. Teams try set-ups and tyres; the times are a hint, not a result.
2. 2QualifyingA shootout for grid positions in three knockout rounds (Q1, Q2, Q3). The slowest drop out each round; the fastest in Q3 takes pole position.
3. 3Sprint (some weekends)A short Saturday race of about 100 km with its own qualifying, worth points to the top eight.
4. 4The Grand PrixSunday's race, about 305 km (Monaco is shorter). Drivers must use at least two tyre compounds, which forces a pit stop.

Times for every session, in your time zone, are on the calendar.

How points work

The top ten finishers in a Grand Prix score points. The driver and the team with the most at the end of the season are champions.

How to read a circuit

Glossary

Pole position (pole)

First place on the starting grid, earned by the fastest lap in qualifying. 'P2' means second fastest, 'P3' third, and so on.

Apex

The innermost point of a corner. Drivers aim to clip it so they can take the straightest, fastest line through.

Braking zone

The stretch before a corner where drivers brake, often from over 300 km/h. Late braking here is the classic way to overtake.

Racing line

The fastest path around the track: wide on entry, clip the apex, wide on exit. Our guided lap follows it.

Hairpin

A very tight turn of around 180 degrees, taken in first or second gear. Monaco's Grand Hotel Hairpin is the slowest corner in F1.

Chicane

A quick left-right (or right-left) squiggle that slows cars down, often added to break up a long straight.

Esses

A run of linked left-right corners taken at speed, like the Esses at Suzuka or COTA. Rhythm matters more than raw speed.

Kerbs

The striped strips at the edge of corners. Drivers ride them to straighten the line, but too much unsettles the car.

Flat out

Full throttle. Some fast corners are taken flat out, so the car barely slows at all.

Sectors

Each lap is split into three timed sectors, so you can see where a driver is gaining or losing time. A 'purple' sector is the fastest of the session.

Gap / delta

The time between two cars or two laps. On our Compare view the gap shows live as the cars run side by side.

Overtake mode and active aero

Since 2026, DRS has been replaced: every car adjusts its wings for less drag on the straights, and a car within a second of the one ahead gets extra electric power to attack.

DRS

The drag reduction system (2011 to 2025): a flap in the rear wing that opened on straights to help the following car overtake.

Pit stop

A stop in the pit lane to change tyres, in about two to three seconds. Timing it well can win a race.

Undercut / overcut

Pitting before a rival so your fresh tyres let you jump ahead (undercut), or staying out longer on a clear track to do the same (overcut).

Tyre compounds

Soft (red), medium (yellow) and hard (white) slicks: softer is faster but wears out sooner. Green intermediates and blue wets are for rain.

Safety car / VSC

After a crash the safety car leads the field slowly while marshals clear the track. A virtual safety car (VSC) makes everyone slow down without bunching up.

Red flag

The session is stopped and cars return to the pit lane, usually after a big crash or heavy rain.

Grid penalty

Places a driver drops on the starting grid, often for using extra engine parts.

Parc fermé

From qualifying until the race, teams can barely touch the cars, so the set-up they qualify with is the one they race.