Formula 1 · Sporting rules 2026 / Article B2
Qualifying
FIA · 2026 · Issue 09In short
Knockout sessions and the rule for admission to the race.
Session lengths
Race Qualifying periods last 18, 15 and 13 minutes; Sprint Qualifying periods last 12, 10 and 8 minutes. With the document’s baseline field of 22 cars, the slowest 6 are eliminated in each of the opening periods. Elimination numbers change with field size; equal times favour the earlier lap.
Admission and interruptions
A driver eliminated in the opening period whose best lap exceeds 107% of its fastest lap is unclassified, unless the track was declared wet. The stewards may nevertheless permit participation after considering relevant evidence. Red flags interrupt qualifying; remaining running time is normally restored, but a period may end if no car could start another timed lap.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. Three supplied FIA documents, with different seasons: general provisions 2026 (Issue 03, 25/06/2026), sporting rules 2026 (Issue 09, 01/10/2026), and technical rules 2027 (Issue 3, 01/10/2026). Read each section for its stated season. Future changes are identified separately. Independent condensed explanations; the supplied PDFs remain the source.
Sources & approach ↗
Sources & approach ↗