How does F1 qualifying work?

F1
- Last updated: March 1st 2024

Here's everything you need to know about F1 qualifying, including format, tyre strategies and the conflict between one lap and race pace

Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz

Leclerc often qualified brilliantly in 2023, but his SF23 was let down by inadequate race pace

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Motor Sport

Qualifying in Formula 1 is often the only time during a hectic race weekend where drivers and their cars can push to the very limits of their respective capability.

The goal for every team is simple: to achieve the fastest lap time in pursuit of the highest possible starting grid slot for the following day’s race. But such a feat requires hours of meticulous planning, practice and analysis — much of which isn’t seen by the lens of a TV camera.

So how does F1 qualifying actually work?

 

F1 qualifying format 

Max Verstappen qualifying F1 Hungary

Red Bull are the current kings of the F1 qualifying format

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Qualifying usually takes place on a Saturday, but — along with the races — has been shifted a day forward for the first two grands prix of the year. This is to allow the second round in Saudi Arabia to take place before Ramadan the following day.

The idea is simple: the driver with the fastest time starts on pole for the Grand Prix. The next fastest driver starts second, and so on.

F1 qualifying sessions are split into three sections: Q1, Q2, and Q3.

Q1 lasts for 18 minutes and is often the most hectic session of the hour, with 20 cars all out on track — often at the same time. On shorter circuits, in particular, it can be difficult for drivers to find a gap in the traffic — to avoid other cars blocking their way, as well as to have clear air that generates maximum downforce.

Backmarkers typically push immediately with the goal of reaching Q2, while the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes will often play it safe while holding much of their real pace in reserve.

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At the end of the session, the slowest five cars are knocked out of qualifying and do not compete in Q2. Their fastest times determine their places at the back of the grid.

Q2 lasts for 15 minutes. The front-runners will continue to ramp up the pace — gradually setting faster times which will begin to build a picture of what the starting grid may look like.

At the end of the session, the slowest five cars are once again knocked out of qualifying and do not compete in Q3. These drivers start in positions 11 to 15 for the race, based on their Q2 times: the Q1 times are irrelevant.

Q3 lasts for 12 minutes and determines the starting places for the ten remaining competitors. Every driver will now push to very limit in order to extract the best lap time possible — often taking pushing their braking points to the limit in search of extra hundredths of a second that can gain a place or more. With such a narrow time window, Q3 demands drivers to be immediately fast if they want a realistic chance at pole position, with the majority of drivers only being able to complete two flying laps during the final period of qualifying.

At the end of the session, the final grid is determined and any grid-place penalties are applied in order to provide viewers with a final finishing order.

 

How is an F1 qualifying run split up?

“Meanwhile, kind of underneath the surface, I wasn't happy with the pace of the development of the racing car. That was the second half of last year, if you're going to look at the pace of development of some of the other teams where they started and where they ended, versus where we started and where we ended. “So you start having conversations and of course, we had a team principal change towards the end of the year, which allowed me the opportunity to be more aggressive in working with Andrea to give him the mandate of take a look at the team. “And that's exactly what he did. And obviously, him having been there meant he wasn't starting from ground zero, and ultimately came up with a model that makes total sense to us, and those internally.” Is it better to have one clear leader or a committee of three? Only time will tell, but intriguingly McLaren used the three-man approach as recently as 2015, when Stella came on board in an engineering capacity. That was subsequently abandoned as it wasn’t working – so why go back to something similar? “I think the only common thing in that organisation and this one is the number three,” Stella insists. “The rest is completely different. At the time, which is when I joined McLaren in 2015, there were three technical directors. I think the separation of competence was very confusing. Even for internal people, it was quite difficult to understand, like who was doing what. “And the first difference is that now we know exactly what the criterion are for this separation. We want in the structure that we have deployed to have clear leadership in relation to the three fundamental areas to make quick cars in modern F1, which is aerodynamics, car concept, and engineering. “So we wanted to have this model clearly in place as a way of answering the question that Zak and I have shared right from day one, in my role as team principal, which was how do we create a performance-led organisation?” Stella implies that under Key the best ideas were not necessarily coming to the fore. “I think there's a misunderstanding when it comes to decision making in F1, people think that you are there all the time with somebody making a decision. But in reality, it's much more about creating competitive ideas, because this is what leads to natural decisions. This is the position in which we want to put McLaren in the future.

How is an F1 qualifying run split up?

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

An F1 qualifying run can be broken into three sections: an out-lap, a qualifying lap, and an in-lap.

The out-lap is the first lap a driver completes after emerging from the pit-lane. Their targets will be to warm the brakes, tyres and engine sufficiently so that by the time they reach the start/finish straight, the car is ready to be pushed to its limit. On circuits such as Austria or Monza, drivers may choose to complete two out-laps in order to sufficiently prepare the car for heavy braking zones and high-speed cornering. They must also be aware of other drivers on flying laps and must avoid obstructing them in order to avoid a penalty.

The qualifying lap is the most important part of the run, as the driver aims to nail every braking point and apex before crossing the start/finish line for the second time.

Finally, the in-lap is used to cool the car down before returning the garage where it may be prepared for another qualifying run by changing the tyres and recharging the battery. Should their tyres be in a good enough condition, drivers can also use the in-lap to keep the car warm and attempt to better their time with another flying lap. This is a common occurrence during the final stages of each qualifying session when time is tight.

 

F1 qualifying tyre strategies 

New 18in tyres during 2022 pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya

F1 drivers have limited allocation of tyres over a race weekend — but must choose carefully during qualifying

Grand Prix Photo

Throughout an F1 qualifying session, teams have free choice over which tyres they use and when.

Pirelli have a range of 18-inch F1 tyres, which comprises six slick compounds (from hardest to softest: the C0, C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5) alongside intermediate and wet weather tyres.

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From the slick range, Pirelli then pick three compounds to be used at each race based upon the characteristics of the circuit and climate. The highest-numbered slick tyre will then be known as the soft (or red tyre), the middle choice will be known as the medium (or yellow tyre), and the lowest-numbered is known as the hard (or white tyre). Teams are given 13 sets of dry tyres and can pick which ratio to have of each compound based upon their weekend strategy.

For example, a front-running team such as Red Bull may choose to have a larger number of soft compound tyres as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are more likely to spend more time in qualifying and will therefore require additional sets of fresh soft tyres. On the other hand, Haas may choose to have more medium and hard tyre compounds so that Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg can be flexible with their race day strategies.

But during qualifying itself, drivers can still be tactical with the soft tyres they are prescribed. Any tyres used in Q1 can be used again in Q2, meaning drivers can have extended chances at posting faster lap times. The same tyres are also available in the race, so if a driver looks after their tyres well during qualifying, it can open up more strategy options later in the weekend.

However, the tyres reserved for Q3 are only available for that session and will be returned to Pirelli after qualifying has ended.

 

F1 qualifying fuel levels 

Depending on the venue and weather conditions, F1 drivers will choose to have varying levels of fuel in their car during qualifying.

In dry weather, teams will often put as little fuel in the car as possible in order to save weight and decrease lap time. But this does mean that drivers will often have to go quite slowly on out and in-laps — while also keeping to a minimum lap time — in order to preserve the 5-7 litres of fuel that sits in the tank.

But in wet weather, fuel level strategy dramatically shifts. At 300km/h (186mph), Pirelli’s full wet weather tyres can shift 85 litres of water every second from the track surface. This means that as the session continues the racing line will begin to dry out and drivers will be theoretically be able to achieve faster lap times. In order to take advantage, teams will fuel their cars for longer runs so that instead of completing one or two flying laps per section of qualifying, drivers can now complete five or more laps depending on the circuit.

 

What is Parc Fermé? 

As soon as the drivers exit the pit-lane for Q1, parc fermé is enforced — meaning the teams can no longer make any changes to a car’s set-up aside from some very minor adjustments. These include: adding or removing fuel, removing the wheels, taking out spark plugs, fitting cooling or heating devices, fitting a jump battery to test electronic systems, charging or discharging the ERS system, bleeding the brakes, draining engine oil, changing the front wing angle, changing or balancing tyres, checking tyre pressure, testing marshalling systems and changing the pedals, steering wheel or drinks bottle.

This means that during the practice sessions prior to qualifying, drivers must have their cars ‘in the right window’ of performance in order to extract the best qualifying position and race pace. Failure to do so can ruin an entire race weekend.

If a team or driver wants to break parc fermé rules, they will be required to start the grand prix from the pitlane.

 

F1 qualifying set-up conflicts 

Red Bull Qatar

Red Bull vs Ferrari: the perfect example of race pace vs qualifying pace

Red Bull

Ahead of each grand prix weekend, teams will aim to strike a balance between good qualifying performance and race pace in order to extract the best result from each. Commonly, this is decided through the driver’s set-up preferences but it can also be deeply embedded into the car itself. For example, Ferrari’s SF-23 was a consistent contender for pole positions throughout the 2023 season, but lost the majority of its pace on race day due to excessive tyre wear. On the other hand, Red Bull’s RB19 was often able to find a brilliant middle ground as it scored 14 pole positions and 21 race wins across the season — each the most of any constructor.

However, the balance between qualifying and race day performance can change depending on the circuit. On the tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo, teams will be inclined to find more one-lap pace in their car as qualifying is widely regarded as the most important session of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend due to the lack of on-track overtaking opportunities. Conversely, on tracks such as Zandvoort, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, teams may lean toward a more race-ready set-up as there is plenty of opportunity to make up places regardless of where they finishing in qualifying.

 

How is F1 qualifying different on a sprint weekend? 

Sprint races now have a dedicated qualifying session, and no longer have a role in setting the grid for the grand prix. GP qualifying retains the same format, but is held on a Friday, while the ‘sprint shootout’ takes place on a Saturday morning and promises faster action, with reduced session lengths.

Friday grand prix qualifying
Saturday sprint shootout qualifying
Session Length Drivers eliminated Session Length
Q1 18min 5 slowest SQ1 12min
Q2 15min 5 slowest SQ2 10min
Q3 12min n/a SQ3 8min

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