Glossary
Short, plain-language explanations of the F1 terms you hear on the broadcast.
Last updated: October 1, 2026
Type in the box below to filter the terms, or jump to a letter. Most terms link to the guide section where they are explained in detail.
#
- 107% rule
- A driver slower than 107% of the fastest Q1 time needs the stewards’ permission to race.
More in: The Basics →
A
- Active aerodynamics
- The system introduced in 2026 in which the front and rear wing flaps open on straights and close for corners. It has two positions: Corner Mode and Straight Mode.
More in: Active Aero and Overtake Mode → - Apex
- The point on the inside of a corner that the car passes closest to. Hitting the right apex gives a fast exit.
B
- Battery (energy store)
- The unit that stores the energy used by the electric motor. It is charged under braking and when the driver lifts off.
More in: Car and Power Unit → - Blue flag
- Shows that a faster car is approaching. In the race, a driver about to be lapped must let it through.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - Boost
- The driver using a button to deploy battery energy wherever they choose on the lap — to attack, defend or gain lap time.
More in: Active Aero and Overtake Mode → - Box
- The team radio call meaning "come into the pits this lap".
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops →
C
- Chequered flag
- The black-and-white chequered flag that signals the end of a session or race.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - Constructors' Championship
- The championship in which a team's two drivers' points are added together.
More in: The Basics → - Corner Mode
- The normal position of the active aero: the wings are closed and the car makes high downforce for the corners.
More in: Active Aero and Overtake Mode → - Cost cap
- The limit on how much a team may spend on car performance in a season. Teams that exceed it are sanctioned.
D
- Degradation
- The loss of tyre performance as it is used. High degradation means more pit stops.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Delta
- The difference between two times. It is also the target time drivers must respect under the VSC.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - Dirty air
- The turbulent air behind a car. It reduces the downforce of the car following and makes it harder to stay close.
- Disqualification
- Removal of a driver from the results, for example after a technical infringement or a very serious driving offence.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - DNF
- Did Not Finish — used for drivers who retire from the race after a crash or failure.
- DNS
- Did Not Start — used when a driver withdraws before the start.
- Downforce
- The force from the wings and floor that pushes the car onto the track, allowing high cornering speeds.
More in: Car and Power Unit → - Drag
- The air resistance that slows the car. Ideally low on the straights.
More in: Car and Power Unit → - Drive-through penalty
- A penalty in which the driver must pass through the pit lane at the speed limit without stopping.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - DRS
- The system used from 2011 to 2025 that let a chasing driver open the rear-wing flap to gain speed. Scrapped for 2026 and replaced by Overtake Mode.
More in: Active Aero and Overtake Mode →
E
- ERS
- Energy Recovery System — the general name for the hybrid system made up of the battery, MGU-K and control electronics.
More in: Car and Power Unit →
F
- FIA
- The international automobile federation that writes and enforces the Formula 1 rules.
- Formation lap
- The lap all cars complete before the start to warm up tyres and brakes.
More in: The Basics →
G
- Graining
- Small pieces of rubber tearing off and sticking to the tyre surface, reducing grip. Usually temporary.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Grid
- The starting order for the race, usually set by qualifying.
More in: The Basics → - Grid penalty
- A penalty that moves a driver a set number of places back from their qualifying position.
More in: Penalties and Stewards →
H
- Halo
- The titanium protection hoop above the cockpit, used since 2018.
More in: Car and Power Unit →
I
- In-lap
- The lap on which a driver comes into the pits.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Intermediate tyre
- The green-walled grooved tyre used on a damp or drying track.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops →
L
- Lapping
- When the leaders catch and pass a slower car that is then a lap down. The slower driver is shown blue flags.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - Lift and coast
- Lifting off the throttle before the braking point and coasting, to save fuel and energy or to recharge.
More in: Car and Power Unit →
M
- Marshal
- A trackside official who waves flags, responds to incidents and clears the track.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - MGU-H
- The motor-generator that recovered energy from the exhaust gases. Removed for 2026.
More in: Car and Power Unit → - MGU-K
- The motor-generator connected to the drivetrain: it harvests energy under braking and adds power under acceleration. Raised to 350 kW in 2026.
More in: Car and Power Unit → - Monocoque
- The carbon-fibre safety cell the driver sits in.
More in: Car and Power Unit →
O
- Overcut
- The strategy of staying out after a rival pits and using fast laps to come out ahead after your own stop.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Overtake Mode
- The overtaking aid that replaced DRS: a driver within one second of the car ahead at the detection point can use extra electrical energy on the next lap.
More in: Active Aero and Overtake Mode →
P
- Parc fermé
- The rules that limit changes to the cars once qualifying has started.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - Pit stop
- Stopping in the pits to change tyres (and a front wing if needed). A good stop takes 2–3 seconds.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Pit wall
- Where team managers and engineers watch the race on screens and make strategy calls.
- Pole position
- The front of the grid, taken by the driver with the fastest lap in qualifying.
More in: The Basics → - Porpoising
- A bouncing motion at high speed as the car is sucked towards the ground and then springs back up.
- Power unit
- The official name for the hybrid engine made up of a turbo V6 petrol engine and an electrical system. In 2026 roughly half of its power is electric.
More in: Car and Power Unit →
Q
- Qualifying
- The timed session made up of Q1, Q2 and Q3 that sets the grid.
More in: The Basics →
R
- Race director
- The FIA official who runs the session and decides on flags, the Safety Car and red flags.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - Recharge
- Charging the battery under braking, lift-off and part throttle.
More in: Car and Power Unit → - Red flag
- The flag that stops the session. Cars return slowly to the pit lane.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - Reprimand
- An official warning from the stewards. Five driving-related reprimands in a season bring a 10-place grid penalty.
More in: Penalties and Stewards →
S
- Safety Car
- The car that comes out during a hazard to slow the race down. Overtaking behind it is not allowed.
More in: Flags and Safety Car → - Sector
- A circuit is split into three parts, each timed separately. A purple sector is the fastest of the session.
- Soft / Medium / Hard
- The names of the three dry compounds chosen for the weekend: red soft, yellow medium, white hard.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Sprint
- A short race of about 100 km held on Saturday at some weekends. The top eight score points.
More in: The Basics → - Stewards
- The panel that judges incidents on track and decides penalties.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - Stint
- The part of the race a driver spends on one set of tyres between pit stops.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops → - Stop-go penalty
- A penalty in which the driver must stop in the pits for 10 seconds with no work done on the car.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - Straight Mode
- The active-aero position with the wing flaps open and drag reduced. Anyone can use it on the designated straights.
More in: Active Aero and Overtake Mode → - Super licence
- The FIA licence required to race in F1. Penalty points are recorded on it.
More in: Penalties and Stewards → - Sustainable fuel
- The non-fossil fuel used by F1 cars from 2026.
More in: Car and Power Unit →
T
- Team radio
- The radio link between the driver and their race engineer. Some messages are played on the broadcast.
- Track limits
- The edges of the track marked by white lines. Having all four wheels beyond the line is an offence.
More in: Penalties and Stewards →
U
- Undercut
- The strategy of pitting before a rival and using fresh tyres to get ahead of them.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops →
V
- Virtual Safety Car
- A neutralisation in which there is no real car on track but every driver must follow a target speed.
More in: Flags and Safety Car →
W
- Wet tyre
- The blue-walled, deeply grooved tyre used in heavy rain.
More in: Tyres and Pit Stops →
Sources
The information in this section was checked against the sources below and written in our own words.
This guide is a plain-language summary written by SectorBeat and is not official. The FIA's published regulations always take precedence.