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How F1 works · Chapter 01 · 5 min

02 How overtaking worksSoon

Three days.One race.

Friday is practice, Saturday sets the order, Sunday pays the points.

McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin cars lined up on the grid in Shanghai.

01 · The grid · Shanghai, 2024

Norris, Hamilton and Alonso wait for the Sprint start.

Photo Liauzh · CC BY-SA 4.0

The weekend · Standard format

  1. Fri.

    Practice. Nothing counts yet.

    • Practice 160 min
    • Practice 260 min

  2. Sat.

    One lap decides where you start.

    • Practice 360 min
    • QualifyingAbout 1 h

  3. Sun.

    The race pays the points.

    • Formation lap1 lap
    • RaceUp to 2 h

Sprint weekends keep one practice. Friday adds sprint qualifying, Saturday a 100 km sprint before qualifying.

Saturday · Qualifying · Knockout

Six out. Six out.Ten fight for pole.

Every driver chases one clean lap against the clock. When each part ends, the slowest six start from the back. The last ten set the front of the . From qualifying on, locks the car's set-up.

  1. 22Q1 · 18 min · Slowest six out
  2. 16Q2 · 15 min · Slowest six out
  3. 10Q3 · 13 min · Fastest takes

Sunday · Points

Top ten score.

Each point counts twice, for the driver and for their team: the . Two titles, settled over 23 races.

  1. 25P1
  2. 18P2
  3. 15P3
  4. 12P4
  5. 10P5
  6. 8P6
  7. 6P7
  8. 4P8
  9. 2P9
  10. 1P10

No bonus point for fastest lap since 2025 · Sprints pay 8 to 1 to the top eight

Words from this chapter

Full glossarySoon

Next · Chapter 02 · 5 min

How overtaking works.

Why a pass starts a lap earlySoon

Main straight · Baku, 2026 · Photo Press Service of the President of Azerbaijan · CC BY 4.0