Beginner · 3 min read

What an F1 weekend looks like: schedule and sessions

Practice, qualifying, sprint and race: what is run each day of a Grand Prix and when the next one is.

In 30 seconds
  • A normal weekend: three one-hour practice sessions (two on Friday, one on Saturday), qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
  • On sprint weekends there is only one practice session before qualifying.
  • Formuradar has the times of every session of the next Grand Prix in Madrid time, with a calendar for your phone.
Step by step

  1. Friday

    Two one-hour practice sessions on a normal weekend: teams try set-ups and tyres.

  2. Saturday

    A third practice session and, in the afternoon, qualifying, which decides the grid.

  3. Sunday

    The race, up to about two hours, with the championship points.

  4. Sprint weekends

    A single practice session and a short race (the sprint) in addition to Sunday's qualifying and race.

See it in the data
Schedule of the next Grand Prix →Weekend preview →Live timing →
Test yourself

Did you get it?

Question 1 of 2How many practice sessions are there on a normal weekend?
Question 2 of 2When is the grid decided?
Glossary for this page
Sprint
A short race of about 100 km (around 30 minutes) held at some weekends, with no compulsory pit stop and points for the top eight.
Pole
First place on the grid: the fastest driver in qualifying starts first.
Starting grid
The race starting order, which comes from qualifying: the fastest starts first.
See the full glossary →
Sources

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

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