The Basics

Formula 1 is the world championship for single-seat, open-wheel racing cars, run by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile). Its first season took place in 1950.

In 2026 there are 11 teams on the grid, each racing with two drivers — 22 cars in total. Race weekends are held in different countries throughout the season, and each race is named after its host country or city.

Every season two titles are decided at the same time:

• Drivers' Championship: the driver with the most points at the end of the season becomes world champion.
• Constructors' Championship: the points of a team's two drivers are added together, and the team with the most points takes the title.

A standard weekend runs over three days:

• Friday: first and second practice (FP1, FP2). Teams try set-ups, learn the tyres and measure race pace on long runs.
• Saturday: third practice (FP3), then qualifying. Qualifying sets the starting order (the grid) for Sunday's race.
• Sunday: the race.

Some weekends use the Sprint format. There is only one practice session. Sprint Qualifying takes place on Friday; Saturday brings a short Sprint race followed by qualifying for Sunday's race. The Sprint covers about 100 km and has no mandatory pit stop.

Qualifying has three parts. In each one, a driver's single fastest lap counts:

1. Q1 (18 minutes): every driver takes part. The six slowest are eliminated and start from 17th to 22nd.
2. Q2 (15 minutes): the remaining 16 drivers run. The six slowest are eliminated and take 11th to 16th.
3. Q3 (12 minutes): the fastest 10 fight for the top 10 places. The driver with the fastest lap starts from pole position — at the very front.

A driver who is slower than 107% of the fastest Q1 time needs the stewards' permission to start the race. Drivers with a grid penalty start further back than where they qualified.

Drivers who finish in the top 10 score points: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1. In Sprint races the top eight score from 8 points down to 1.

From 2019 to 2024 the driver who set the fastest lap of the race earned a bonus point; this was dropped for 2025 and is not used in 2026 either.

If drivers are level on points at the end of the season, the one with more wins is ahead; if still tied, second places are compared, then third places, and so on.

The race starts from a standstill after a formation lap: five red lights come on one by one, and the race begins when they all go out together.

The race distance is the smallest number of laps needed to exceed 305 km, with a few exceptions such as Monaco. Excluding interruptions, a race can last no longer than two hours.

In a dry race every driver must use at least two different dry tyre compounds, so almost everyone makes at least one pit stop. More in Tyres and Pit Stops.