F1 practice live: how to read FP1, FP2 and FP3 timing

Step by step

1. What practice is

   These are the training sessions before qualifying: teams tune the car, try tyres and rehearse qualifying and the race. They award no points and set no grid.

2. Look at the tyre before the time

   A time on a new soft is not comparable with one on a used hard. In the table you see the compound, the laps and whether the set is new or used.

3. Fast lap versus long run

   Single fast laps on softs are usually qualifying simulations; long runs, with more fuel, simulate the race. The pace per lap helps you tell them apart.

4. Purple sectors

   A purple sector shows the session's best time in that part of the track. In practice it can belong to a driver who then does not complete the lap.

5. Afterwards, the analysis

   Once FastF1 publishes the data, you get the corrected long runs, pace by team and the session's telemetry comparison.

Did you get it?

Glossary

Stint

The part of a race a driver runs on the same set of tyres, between two pit stops.

Compound

The type of tyre (soft, medium, hard…): softs grip more but wear out sooner.

Pole

First place on the grid: the fastest driver in qualifying starts first.

Parc fermé

A regime in which, from the moment the car goes out to qualify, teams can only make minimal, supervised changes. It aims to make sure the car that qualifies is the one that races.

Sources

• A normal weekend includes three one-hour practice sessions (two on Friday and one on Saturday); on sprint weekends there is a single practice session before qualifying. Formula1.com · The beginner's guide to the F1 weekend
• A purple sector is the fastest time any driver has set in that part of the track during the session. Motorsport Explained · What is a purple sector in F1?
• Tyre compounds differ in grip and wear; that is why a time is only comparable with another on the same compound and condition. Formula1.com · The beginner's guide to F1 tyres
• In practice, Formuradar shows the same columns as in the race (position, sectors, tyre, laps) and a pace chart with only valid laps, coloured by tyre. Formuradar · Tiempos de F1 en directo
• This is an unofficial panel: it uses F1's public feed, with no credentials or guarantee of continuity, and it includes no video, car map or team radio. For the official signal, watch the broadcast. Formuradar · Tiempos de F1 en directo

Sources checked on 20 October 2026. The explanations are popular-level: for the exact rules, check the FIA sporting regulations.