FIA confirms Q3 change in F1 2026 qualifying tweak

Henry Valantine 28 Feb 2026 3:30 PM

Qualifying scenes like this have been common in F1, but an extra minute has been added to Q3.

The FIA has confirmed a tweak surrounding the F1 qualifying format in 2026, adding an extra minute to Q3.

Qualifying will remain an hour long, but the break between the final two parts of qualifying will be shortened by a minute to make up for the shortfall.

FIA adds extra minute to Q3 for 2026 season

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The final minutes of qualifying prove crucial for the teams as they look to place their drivers on track at the latest possible moment, theoretically offering the best track conditions.

The optimum gap to leave to a car ahead is also thought to be around six seconds, offering a small tow but without interrupting downforce through the corners.

In 2025, there was an uptick in teams queuing their cars in the pit lane in the final minutes of sessions, with the danger of unsafe releases and running out of time to set another lap.

As this Q1/Q2/Q3 qualifying format is now mature, team strategists have worked out the best time for drivers to head out on track before the end of a session, which has increasingly led to almost all remaining cars queuing at the end of the pit lane at the same time.

As drivers take their time to get on track, too, complaints also grew from drivers over pit-lane traffic.

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With this move in the final part of qualifying, then, the FIA has taken a step to add extra time for the drivers to set their best possible lap time, which in turn could have the effect of easing traffic concerns and taking some of the pressure off the teams to get their drivers out at the right time.

Haas driver Esteban Ocon previously elaborated on this topic, with drivers obliged to maintain a high enough pace once on track to not potentially endanger much faster cars on a hot lap.

He said of the battle for qualifying track position in Azerbaijan last season: “Basically, we have a rule now for pretty much everything.

“So, we can’t go as slow as we want in the out lap, because we have to respect the delta. We can’t push in the pit lane, to a certain extent, also in the race, so we are restricted everywhere we go.

“When you are stationary, when everyone is stationary, you also can’t merge in. You know, people have to move. So if you don’t leave on time, you can end up last, and because everyone takes the five-second gap, and everyone is limited to the delta, then you can’t catch back up, and you can’t overtake people to make it on the line, so you can be in real trouble.

“So, it is extremely difficult. It’s extremely stressful for the team, because they give the call for us to get released. But the mechanics, they’re fighting like crazy. They’re looking [at others], ‘Are they going? Are they going? Are they not?’ You know, it’s quite insane.

“Yes, the delta is for our safety, not to go too slow on the in laps and stuff. But I used to prefer when we were a bit more free, when we could position ourselves on the out lap, and when we could also release and not think about that as much.”

The format as a wholeremains unchanged, with the return to a 22-car grid in 2026 meaning the bottom six cars will be eliminated at the end of Q1 and Q2, instead of the bottom five.

F1 2026 qualifying format

Q1: 18 minutes, places 17-22 eliminated
Q2: 15 minutes, places 11-16 eliminated
Q3: 13 minutes, top 10 on the grid set

F1 2026 Sprint qualifying format

Q1: 12 minutes, places 17-22 eliminated
Q2: 10 minutes, places 11-16 eliminated
Q3: 8 minutes, top 10 on the grid set

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