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Every guide
The 2026 rules
The basics
Formula 1 explained: the complete beginner's guide
What Formula 1 is, how a season works, how teams and drivers win, and what to watch for in your first race, all in plain English.
How does an F1 race weekend work?
Practice, qualifying, sprints and the Grand Prix: what happens on each day of a Formula 1 weekend, and which sessions are worth watching.
Which F1 team should I support? A guide to all 11 teams
New to Formula 1 and don't have a team yet? A quick, honest guide to the personality of every 2026 F1 team to help you pick yours.
Rules
F1 flags explained: what every colour means
Yellow, red, blue, black-and-white: a quick guide to every flag in Formula 1 and what drivers must do when they see one.
F1 penalties explained: time penalties and grid drops
The 5- and 10-second penalties, drive-throughs, grid penalties, penalty points and track limits: how F1 punishes rule breaks.
How F1 points work
How many points F1 drivers and teams score per race and sprint, how the two championships work, and how ties are broken.
How F1 qualifying works: Q1, Q2 and Q3 explained
How Formula 1 qualifying sets the starting grid, how the knockout format works, and why pole position matters so much.
How is the F1 world champion decided?
How F1 drivers and teams win the championship, how ties are broken, and how to work out when a driver can clinch the title early.
Safety Car vs Virtual Safety Car explained
Why F1 uses a Safety Car and a Virtual Safety Car, how each works, and why both can completely change a race's strategy.
What is an F1 sprint race?
How F1 sprint weekends work: Sprint Qualifying, the 100 km Saturday race, points for the top eight, and why it doesn't set Sunday's grid.
Strategy
F1 pit stops explained: the undercut and overcut
Why F1 teams make pit stops, how a 2-second tyre change works, and how the undercut and overcut win races.
F1 tyres explained: compounds, colours and strategy
Why F1 uses soft, medium and hard tyres, what the coloured stripes mean, the two-compound rule, and how tyre choices shape race strategy.