Plain-English explanations of the F1 jargon and metrics you'll see across Kerbside. New to F1? Start here.
A Grand Prix weekend is split into practice, qualifying, and the race. Some weekends also include a Sprint.
The three free practice sessions where teams set up their cars before qualifying.
On a normal weekend, FP1 and FP2 run on Friday (60 minutes each) and FP3 runs on Saturday (60 minutes). Sprint weekends only have one practice session.
A timed session that decides the starting order (the grid) for the race.
Qualifying is split into three knockout rounds: Q1 (22 cars, slowest 6 eliminated), Q2 (16 cars, slowest 6 eliminated), and Q3 (10 cars fight for pole position).
The three knockout rounds inside qualifying.
Q1 lasts 18 minutes; the slowest 6 drivers are eliminated. Q2 lasts 15 minutes; another 6 are eliminated. Q3 lasts 13 minutes and decides the top 10 grid positions, with the fastest taking pole.
A short race (around 100 km) held on selected weekends, awarding points to the top 8 finishers.
Sprint weekends use a separate qualifying session — Sprint Qualifying — to set the grid for the Sprint. The main race grid is still set by traditional qualifying.
A shorter qualifying session that sets the grid for the Sprint race.
The starting line-up for a race, with cars placed by their qualifying positions.
The first spot on the grid, awarded to the fastest driver in qualifying.
How a driver's race ends, and the most common shorthand for results.
Did Not Finish — the driver retired from the race before the finish line.
Common causes are mechanical failures, crashes, or being lapped out by the leader. We classify a result as a DNF based on the FIA status, not finishing position.
Did Not Start — the driver was on the entry list but never started the race.
Disqualified — the result was struck off, usually for a technical infringement.
The single quickest lap of the race. Worth one championship point if the driver finishes in the top 10.
Finishing in the top three positions (1st, 2nd, or 3rd).
How we measure speed across a lap, a stint, or a race — and how we compare drivers to each other.
How fast a driver is over a typical lap during a race, ignoring slow laps caused by pit stops, the chaotic first lap, or safety cars.
We exclude any lap slower than 107% of the median to drop safety-car and traffic laps, then take each driver's average.
A driver's best single-lap pace in qualifying, where they push flat-out on low fuel.
Pace during a long, continuous run in practice — the closest sneak peek of true race pace.
Teams use long runs in FP2 to simulate race conditions. We average the consecutive race-fuel laps and exclude in-laps and out-laps.
Each lap is split into three timed sections: Sector 1, Sector 2, and Sector 3.
Comparing sector times shows where one driver gains or loses time over another — high-speed corners, slow corners, or straights.
The lap a driver would set if they linked their best Sector 1, best Sector 2, and best Sector 3.
It's a theoretical floor — drivers rarely actually nail all three in one go.
The time difference to the leader of a session or championship.
The time difference to the car directly ahead.
The change in position or time between two reference points (e.g. grid vs finish).
On Kerbside, "delta" almost always means a position change. A positive delta means positions gained.
The highest speed reached anywhere on the track during a session, from the car's telemetry.
A team's average qualifying-pace deficit to the pole-sitter, measured across the season.
For each round we take the team's best qualifying lap and compare it to pole, then average those gaps. A useful season-long pace ranking that smooths out one-off bad sessions.
A driver's mean finishing position across all races they've entered.
Lower is better. We only count races where the driver took the start AND was classified at the finish. DNFs are excluded so a single retirement doesn't torpedo the average.
The highest position (lowest number) the driver has ever finished a race in.
What determines when a car pits and which tyres it runs.
A continuous run of laps on the same set of tyres, from one pit stop (or the start) to the next.
The tyre type chosen for a stint. F1 uses five compounds: Soft, Medium, Hard, Intermediate, and Wet.
Soft is the fastest but wears the quickest; Hard is the slowest but lasts longest. Intermediates and Wets are for damp or rainy conditions.
Pitting earlier than a rival to use fresh tyres and gain time on them before they pit.
Staying out longer than a rival to use clean air and gain time on them while they pit.
How long a car spent in the pit lane on a stop — entry to exit, including the pit-lane speed limit.
On Kerbside we report pit-lane time, not pit-stop time. Pit-stop time (just the stationary tyre change) is roughly 2–3 seconds; pit-lane time is typically 18–25 seconds depending on the circuit.
The range of laps during which a team plans to make a pit stop, balancing tyre life and traffic.
How much lap time a tyre loses as it wears across a stint. High deg means lap times fall off quickly; low deg means pace stays consistent.
Small rolls of rubber that form on a tyre's surface when it slides too much, costing grip and lap time.
Often happens in cool conditions or when tyres are below their working temperature. Can sometimes "clean up" after a few laps once the grain wears off.
Bubbles of rubber that form on a tyre when it overheats, eventually tearing chunks off the surface.
Caused by running the tyre too hot — often from aggressive driving, high track temperatures, or running a compound that's too soft for the circuit.
The point at which a tyre's performance suddenly collapses, with lap times dropping by several seconds within a few laps.
Getting tyres up to their operating temperature so they generate grip. Cold tyres are slippery and slow.
Harder compounds take longer to warm up than softer ones. Cold or wet conditions make warm-up harder, which is why drivers weave on out-laps.
Driving terms you'll hear on TV — how cars interact with each other and the circuit.
The lap before the race starts, where cars leave the grid, drive around the circuit once, and return to their grid slots for the start.
Used to warm up tyres and brakes. The race distance does not include the formation lap.
The first lap after leaving the pits, used to warm up the tyres before a flying lap. Not a representative lap time.
The lap a driver takes into the pits at the end of a stint. Usually slower than a normal lap because they're slowing for the pit entry.
The pocket of low-pressure air behind a car on a straight. Following closely reduces drag and gives a speed boost — useful for overtaking or setting a quicker qualifying lap.
The choppy, swirly air left behind by the car in front. It robs the chasing car of grip in corners and makes its tyres and engine run hotter.
The opposite of "clean air". Dirty air is the main reason F1 cars struggle to follow each other closely through corners.
Smooth, undisturbed air with no traffic in front. Lets the car run at its natural pace.
The painted white lines that define the edge of the track. Putting all four wheels beyond them invalidates the lap time or can earn a penalty.
Going off track repeatedly usually leads to warnings first, then a 5-second penalty after several offences.
Easing off the accelerator before braking zones to save fuel and cool the engine, brakes, or tyres — at the cost of a small amount of lap time.
A slower car running near the back of the field, about to be (or being) lapped by the leaders.
A car that is at least one full lap behind the race leader.
Lapped cars are shown blue flags and must let the leaders past. During a safety car, lapped cars may be allowed to unlap themselves before the restart.
On-track interventions and signals from race control that affect the race.
Drag Reduction System — a flap on the rear wing that opened on straights to help overtaking. Used from 2011 to 2025.
DRS was only available within one second of the car ahead, in designated DRS zones, and only after the second lap of the race. From 2026 it was replaced by active aerodynamics and Manual Override.
A real car that leads the field at a controlled speed when there is debris or an incident on track.
A speed limit applied to all cars without deploying a real safety car. Used for shorter incidents.
A warning to slow down for an incident or hazard ahead. No overtaking is allowed.
The session is stopped, usually because of a serious crash or unsafe conditions.
Shown to a slower driver who's about to be lapped by a faster car. They must let the faster car past within three blue flags or risk a penalty.
An official warning to a driver for unsporting behaviour (like pushing a rival off track). The next step is usually a penalty.
Disqualification — the driver must return to the pits immediately and their result is cancelled.
The session is over. Shown at the finish line on the final lap of a race or at the end of a practice or qualifying session.
How the race officials (called stewards) punish rule-breaking — from small time penalties to grid drops and disqualification.
A fixed amount of time (usually 5 or 10 seconds) added to a driver's race result, or served at their next pit stop.
If served at a pit stop, the car must sit still in its pit box for the full penalty time before any mechanics can touch it. If not served during the race, the time is simply added to the final result.
The driver must enter the pit lane, drive through at the speed limit, and rejoin the race without stopping.
Typically costs around 20 seconds depending on the circuit. Used for more serious rule-breaking during the race.
The driver must enter the pit lane and stop in their box for a set number of seconds (usually 10) before rejoining. No work can be done on the car.
A step up from a drive-through — costs more time and is reserved for serious offences.
A drop of a set number of grid spots for the next race, usually for changing too many engine parts or for causing a crash.
If the penalty is larger than the number of available grid spots (e.g. a 15-place drop from P8), the driver is sent to the back of the grid or starts from the pit lane.
Points added to a driver's racing licence for on-track incidents. If a driver collects 12 points within 12 months, they are banned for one race.
Points drop off 12 months after they were given. They are separate from any other penalty (like a time penalty) handed out for the same incident.
The 2026 rules reshaped the cars: smaller and lighter chassis, new power units, sustainable fuels, and a fresh overtaking toolkit replacing DRS.
Movable front and rear wings that drivers switch between a low-drag mode on straights and a high-downforce mode in corners.
Sometimes called X-mode (low drag, high top speed) and Z-mode (high downforce, more grip through corners). Active aero is available to every driver at all times in defined zones — unlike DRS, it is not gated on being within one second of the car ahead.
A temporary electric-power boost a driver can deploy to attack or defend — the 2026 replacement for DRS as the overtaking aid.
Manual Override gives an attacking car extra deployment from the battery (MGU-K) above the normal limit. It is available to any driver within one second of the car ahead, in designated zones, and is finite per lap.
From 2026, all F1 cars run on 100% sustainable fuel made from non-food biomass, municipal waste, or carbon captured from the atmosphere.
The fuel is "drop-in" — chemically equivalent to fossil petrol so it works in the new internal combustion engines without redesign. Net carbon emissions across the fuel's lifecycle are close to zero.
F1's hybrid engine was rebalanced for 2026: roughly half the power now comes from the electric motor, the MGU-H is gone, and the electric motor (MGU-K) is much more powerful.
Total output is similar to before (~1000 hp), but the split is roughly 50/50 between the internal combustion engine and the battery-driven MGU-K (up from ~80/20). The MGU-H — which recovered energy from the turbo — was removed to simplify the engine and cut costs.
Stats Kerbside derives from raw timing data — not always seen in official broadcasts.
On average, how many places a driver moves up (or down) between the grid and the finish, per race.
Positive means they typically gain places off the start and through pit stops. Negative means they tend to lose places. We only count races where the driver has both a recorded grid spot and finishing position.
Share of a driver's starts that ended in a win.
Calculated as wins ÷ races, expressed as a percentage.
Share of a driver's starts that ended on the podium (top 3).
Calculated as podiums ÷ races, expressed as a percentage.
A driver's average championship points per race start.
A direct count of how often one driver finished ahead of another, when both completed the session.
How tightly clustered a driver's performance is — the smaller the spread, the more consistent.
Computed as the standard deviation (σ) of the values being compared (e.g. pit-lane times). Lower is better.
A blended ranking that weighs recent results, pace, head-to-head record, and consistency.
It's our attempt at a single-number "form guide". It rewards drivers who are fast, finish well, and beat their teammate.