How F1 works

Qualifying, points, flags, penalties, tyres, the safety car and the 2026 rules, each explained in two minutes for new Formula 1 fans.

• How does an F1 weekend work? Three days: practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday to set the grid, and the Grand Prix on Sunday.
• How does F1 qualifying work? Three knock-out rounds: the six slowest drop out in Q1 and Q2, and the ten fastest fight for pole in Q3.
• How do points work in F1? The top ten score: 25 for the win, then 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1. Sprints pay the top eight.
• How is the F1 world champion decided? The driver with the most points after the last race is champion. It is decided early once nobody can catch the leader.
• What is an F1 sprint race? A 100 km Saturday race with its own qualifying, at six weekends a year, paying 8 points down to 1 for eighth.
• What are the F1 tyre rules? Three dry tyres each weekend (soft, medium, hard), and in a dry race every driver must use at least two of them.
• What do the flags mean in F1? Yellow means danger and no overtaking, red stops the session, blue tells a lapped car to let the leaders by.
• What is the safety car in F1? After a crash the field slows down: the Safety Car bunches everyone up, the Virtual Safety Car keeps the gaps, a red flag stops the race.
• How do F1 penalties work? From a 5-second penalty to a grid drop or disqualification. Stewards judge every incident, and penalty points can lead to a race ban.
• What is parc fermé in F1? From qualifying until the race, the cars are locked: teams may repair them but may not change the set-up.
• What changed in F1 in 2026? Smaller, lighter cars with wings that move, half their power from a battery, and an Overtake Mode instead of DRS.
• What is the F1 cost cap? Each team may spend about 215 million dollars a year on its car. Driver pay and marketing do not count.