Beginner's guide to an F1 race

Read everything you need to watch a Formula 1 race, including the race length, qualifying, points system and driver preparation.

How do drivers prepare for an F1 race?

Being an F1 driver requires a substantial amount of preparation outside of a race weekend and they have to be at peak physical fitness to perform over a weekend.

Abiding by a strict training programme and diet, drivers are also permitted to use simulators in the lead to a race, enabling them to test varying set-ups and partake in multiple programmes.

Practice Sessions

Practice sessions are vital features of a race weekend and each session enables a driver and team to learn about their car and how it performs at a circuit.

Free Practice One is usually an acclimatisation session where drivers get a feel for the track and the team make sure that everything on the car is performing as it should.

Free Practice Two will see drivers embark on longer stints in preparation for the race and qualifying simulation runs towards the end of the session, while Free Practice Three enables drivers to make their final preparations ahead of qualifying.

On a Sprint weekend, the loss of two practice sessions places greater emphasis on getting everything perfect from the get-go.

Reconnaissance Laps

Drivers can conduct reconnaissance laps before a race as they head to the grid to gauge track conditions and perform any last-minute checks.

They can either venture back into the pits if they possess enough time, or if they're happy they can head to their grid position.

Formation Lap

The formation lap is a final warm-up lap before the race begins.

Drivers will follow each other in the order of their grid slots and prepare their cars by warming their tyres and brakes; cars will weave from side-to-side to generate heat in their tyres.

Once everybody's returned to the grid, the Race Director will initiate the start sequence.

How is the starting order decided for an F1 race?

Qualifying

Qualifying is conducted on a Saturday, a day before the race, and is used to determine the grid for the race and is split into three stages – Q1, Q2 and Q3 – which last 18 minutes, 15 minutes and 12 minutes respectively.

The five slowest drivers in Q1 are eliminated, setting the grid positions from 20th to 16th, before the five slowest drivers in Q2 will set the grid slots from 15th to 11th.

The remaining drivers then battle it out in Q3 to determine who will start from where in the top 10.

How long is an F1 race?

An F1 Grand Prix is held over a minimum distance of 305 kilometres, with the exception of the Monaco GP which is measured at 260km due to the slow nature of the race.

Due to the varying length of circuit, it means the number of laps differ for each race.

An F1 race typically lasts around two hours from start to finish. However, this can be longer if there are Safety Car periods or red flags.

How many points are awarded to the winner of an F1 race?

The winner of an F1 race receives 25 points.

You can find out all of the F1 points system details here.

How often are F1 races?

An F1 season commences in March and runs through to December, with a total of 24 Grand Prix weekends being scheduled in that period.

You can view the full 2025 F1 calendar here.

How has the format of F1 weekends changed?

An F1 weekend has undergone a number of format changes over the years, most notably in qualifying.

In the first 46 years of the sport, drivers had two one-hour-long sessions to set qualifying times. In 1996, this was altered to a singular one-hour session where drivers were restricted to 12 laps.

Qualifying altered again in 2003 as a one-lap qualifying process was implemented, before the current 'knockout' format was introduced in 2006.

Introduction of Sprint races

The introduction of Sprint races have presented a unique addition to the F1 calendar and a Sprint weekend includes a notably different layout to the typical Grand Prix weekend.

FP2 is removed to accommodate Sprint qualifying, while FP3 is taken out for the Sprint race.

View the full guide to F1 Sprint weekends here.

How are messages given to drivers during the race?

Team radio

Team radio is arguably one of the most essential tools for the team and for the driver in a cockpit.

There is a whole variety of channels for different staff across the race weekend, but arguably the most important one is the that ensures the driver has direct contact with their race engineer.

This enables them to discuss strategy, the gap to drivers ahead and behind, conditions, potential damage, penalties and much more.

Flags

There are a number of flags used in F1 to convey crucial information to drivers.

These flags are waved by marshals at the side of the track and each flag has a distinctive meaning.

What do the different flags mean?

The most notable flag is the chequered flag, which is used to mark the end of a session.

Want to know more of each flag and its meaning? Read our full guide to F1 flags here.

Can F1 drivers be given penalties?

Warnings

A slap on the wrist from the FIA, warnings are most commonly issued out when a driver first exceeds track limits.

A step up from a warning is a reprimand. If a driver is to receive five reprimands in a season, they will be issued a 10-place grid penalty for the subsequent race.

Fines

In some instances, drivers will be fined if they've committed an offence and can be both sporting and non-sporting.

An example of a non-sporting fine s Max Verstappen's punishment for swearing during an FIA news conference.

Grid penalties

A grid penalty results in a driver dropping a number of grid positions at the next race weekend they participate in.

While grid penalties can often be awarded for a sporting offence during practice or qualifying, a lot of teams receive grid penalties for exceeding their engine component allocation, which is an automatic 10-place grid penalty.

Drive-through penalties

A drive-through penalty requires a driver to drive through the pit lane before then returning to the track.

A driver has two laps from when the team were notified of the stewards’ decision to serve the drive-through penalty.

Time penalties

One of the most frequently used by FIA stewards on culpable drivers is a time penalty. They're typically issued as either five or 10 seconds.

A driver must serve this penalty when heading to the garage for a pit stop. The car must be stationary in the pit box for the allotted time before mechanics are allowed to work on the car. If a mechanic touches the car before the penalty has been served, another penalty is issued.

In instances where the driver doesn't need to stop again, the time penalty will be added to their finishing time at the end of the race.

Disqualification and suspension

In a worst-case scenario, a driver or team could be disqualified from a race or session.

Teams guilty of a technical infringement will see one or both of their cars disqualified, while drivers who have breached regulations on track are liable to disqualification.

Drivers who accrue 12 penalty points on their licence will serve a one-race ban.

Penalty points

Penalty points is a punishment given by the FIA for more severe incidents.

They remain on a driver's licence for 12 months.