Practice is competition running; testing outside a competition is allowed only in named categories.

The ruleset and effective version used here

This page covers the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship, a global championship governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The general baseline is Section A, Issue 03, dated 25 June 2026. Article A9.1.1 makes the 2026 regulations effective from 1 January 2026 for the 2026 calendar year.

Practice format and track running outside a competition are controlled by Section B: Sporting Regulations, Issue 08, dated 5 August 2026, especially Articles B1.7, B2.1, B4 and B11 plus Appendix B1. Issue 08 records World Motor Sport Council approval on 3 August 2026 and is the latest 2026 Section B issue listed by the FIA when this page was checked on 26 August 2026.

Not every non-race lap is a test

• Free practice: an official Lap Time Classified Session inside a Competition. Race control, flags, tyres, scrutineering and sporting penalties all apply.
• Testing: track running outside a Competition by a competitor, its agent or, where the definition says so, a homologated power-unit supplier.
• Marketing running: a Promotional Event or Demonstration Event has its own purpose and distance ceiling; calling it a “filming day” does not create a separate exemption.
• Historic running: cars older than the Previous Car window fall into Testing of Historic Car, not TPC. Section B11.5 still controls their period specification and tyres.

Fastest lap orders practice, but practice does not directly set the grid

Article B2.1.3 orders each free-practice classification by every driver's fastest lap. Identical times are separated by when they were set, with the earlier lap ahead. No championship points are awarded and the practice result does not itself establish the Race grid.

Practice can still matter procedurally. Under Articles B2.2.3 and B2.4.3, the stewards may consider a suitable practice time and other evidence when deciding whether an unclassified Sprint Qualifying or Qualifying driver may continue in the Competition. On a Sprint weekend, FP1 order also determines the relative order of certain unclassified Sprint Qualifying drivers.

A red flag does not automatically guarantee replacement time. Article B4.2.1 creates a specific possibility for Sprint-weekend FP1: if it is interrupted before 45 minutes have elapsed and it was not already extended by agreement, it may be extended to preserve the scheduled track time, subject to the Sprint Qualifying timetable.

“Free” does not mean exempt from sporting rules

Under Articles B1.3.3 and B4, the Race Director controls free practice, may interrupt it as often and for as long as safety and orderly conduct require, and manages its restart. Flags, VSC procedure, pit-lane rules and scrutineering continue to apply.

• Impeding or unnecessary stopping: Article B4.1.1 sends the matter to the stewards. Article B1.9.4 permits deletion of lap times or a grid-position penalty for an incident in a Lap Time Classified Session.
• Pit-lane speeding: Article B1.6.3 sets the competition limit at 80km/h unless the Race Director changes it; in practice the stated fine is €100 per km/h over, capped at €1,000, with an additional penalty possible if speed was used to seek an advantage.
• Practice starts: after a free-practice session, only a driver still on track when the end signal is shown may complete the prescribed extra lap and use a marked grid position. A red flag ends the practice-start procedure.
• Setup work: teams can compare parts and settings before parc fermé, but tyre allocations, component limits and technical legality still apply. See parc fermé and setup rules for the point at which that freedom narrows.

The mandatory “rookie FP1” is an additional-driver rule

A competitor may use additional drivers in FP1 or FP2, provided the FIA is told the cars and drivers at least 24 hours before FP1. A change made less than two hours before FP1 needs the stewards' consent, and no more than two drivers may be used by a competitor in one session.

The mandatory limited-experience element is narrower. At two competitions for each entered car, the competitor must use a driver who has started no more than two Championship Races in their career. The team must identify that driver and car seven days before the competition. The driver uses the competition number assigned to them, the nominated race driver's allocated power unit and tyres, and must hold a Super Licence or Free Practice Super Licence.

Practice freedom ends before the competitive sessions

Practice is used for fuel-load comparisons, tyre behaviour, reliability checks and setup work, but those sporting purposes do not create extra permissions. On a standard weekend the cars are sealed after FP2 under Article B3.4 and the seals may be removed three hours before FP3. That overnight sealing is not the start of pre-Race parc fermé: setup work remains possible for FP3, while pre-Race parc fermé begins when a car first leaves the Pit Lane in Qualifying.

On a Sprint weekend, pre-Sprint parc fermé begins when the car first leaves the Pit Lane in Sprint Qualifying. Because that follows the only scheduled FP1, there is no later free-practice session in which to reverse an unsuccessful setup choice without engaging the parc fermé rules.

The only 2026 current-car test opportunities

1. Pre-season private collective test: one five-consecutive-day test between 5 and 31 January 2026. Each competitor could run on three days, with one car per day.
2. Pre-season public collective tests: two three-consecutive-day tests between 7 February and seven days before the first Championship competition, with one car per competitor per day. A wet-tyre day could be set aside if requested by the tyre supplier.
3. Post-season test: one day at the circuit that hosted the final competition, beginning at least 36 hours after that competition. Each competitor must use two current cars: one for next-season tyre work and one for a Young Driver who holds an International A Licence and has started no more than two F1 World Championship Races.
4. Out-of-Competition Tyre Testing: a maximum of 40 car-days organised by the FIA in consultation with the competitors and tyre supplier. This is the programme total, not 40 private days for each team. Its sole purpose is tyre-supplier development, and the approved programme may use a Current Car, Previous Car or Mule Car.
5. Substitute Driver Test: one day for a declared substitute who has not raced in F1 in the previous two calendar years. It must fall within 14 days before or after the substitution and cannot use a circuit hosting a 2026 Race. If the declared substitution is not then made, the team loses one pre-season TCC day the following year.

General TCC controls also apply: running is normally between 09:00 and 19:00 for no more than nine continuous hours, normally at a European circuit, and not while a Championship Competition is taking place. Except during Out-of-Competition Tyre Testing, only Current Cars may be on track. The exceptions and required agreements are set out in Articles B11.2.1–B11.2.2.

Previous-car and mule-car running have different caps

• TPC annual cap: each competitor may complete no more than 20 TPC days in a calendar year. One car may be available and used on a TPC day, which is a declared continuous period of up to nine hours between 09:00 and 19:00.
• Current or intended race drivers: their combined TPC running is capped at 1,000km across no more than four of those 20 days. A mid-season replacement is treated as the original driver for this calculation.
• TPC circuits: only FIA Grade 1 or Grade 1T circuits qualify. A current Championship venue cannot be used in the 60 days before its competition, if it did not host a Championship competition in 2025, or if the FIA considers it significantly modified since that event.
• TPC specification: the car, components and software must match specifications actually used in a Competition or TCC during the 2022–2025 Previous Car period. The FIA may pre-approve a departure for listed reasons such as safety, reliability or lack of availability.
• TMC programme: the FIA may organise a maximum of 10 car-days from 1 January to 31 December for the sole purpose of mule-car testing. That is an overall programme limit, not a ten-day allowance for every team.

Promotional and demonstration running is distance-limited

A Promotional Event is purely marketing or promotional running with a Current Car. Each competitor is allowed two PE in 2026; each is capped at 200km and only one may be held by a team on a day. Purpose-built promotional tyres are mandatory.

A Demonstration Event is purely for marketing or demonstration. At the FIA's sole discretion, each competitor may hold two DE with a Current Car, plus current-car DE organised by the commercial rights holder. A current-car DE is capped at 15km for the event; a previous-car DE is capped at 50km. The car must use the FIA ECU and purpose-built tyres.

Article B11.1 requires at least seven days' notice to the FIA and every competitor for TPC, PE and DE, with amendments allowed until 72 hours before the activity. The declaration identifies the car specification, drivers, category, dates and hours, purpose and venue. An FIA observer may attend.

Tyre tests cannot be converted into upgrade tests

For the post-season tyre car and Out-of-Competition Tyre Testing, Article B11.8.3 prohibits test parts, software or component changes that give the team information unrelated to the tyre test, unless the FIA specifically requests them. Necessary tyre-evaluation changes require FIA approval.

Mechanical setup and driver-control changes at an out-of-competition tyre test are permitted only when needed to evaluate the tyres or complete the programme, and must be agreed with the tyre supplier in advance. Extra tyre-state or tyre-performance sensors need prior FIA and supplier agreement; their data goes to the supplier, which may share processed, team-anonymised data with the other competitors.

TPC uses a different safeguard: current-championship test parts, sensors, instrumentation, software and procedures that could give current-car information are prohibited. Mechanical setup and driver-control changes are nevertheless permitted for genuine previous-car running.

How to classify any F1 track-running report

1. Is an FIA Championship Competition in progress? If yes, identify FP1, FP2, FP3 or another official session; do not apply the outside-testing caps to competition practice.
2. What rules was the car built for? In 2026, that separates Current Car, 2022–2025 Previous Car and older Historic Car before any mileage is counted.
3. What is the genuine purpose? Current-car development, tyre/FIA work, marketing, demonstration and historic running lead to different categories.
4. Who is driving? Race or intended race drivers, young drivers, substitute drivers and tyre-test drivers have different eligibility or mileage conditions.
5. Check the event controls. Venue grade, calendar proximity, notice, duration, car count, tyres, sensors, parts and aggregate mileage can each decide legality.
6. Check for written FIA approval. Several exceptions exist only at FIA discretion or after specified agreement; team preference does not activate them.

There is no single automatic penalty for every testing breach

Section B11 supplies the limits but does not attach one universal grid drop, fine or points deduction to every breach. Under Section A Article A1.4, the F1 team is strictly liable for non-compliance caused by people acting on its behalf. Articles A6 and A7 provide for FIA investigation and adjudication by the proper body.

The available sanction therefore depends on the provision, forum, seriousness and circumstances. Section A Article A7.12 applies the general sanctions in the International Sporting Code and Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, and permits additional Championship measures. It would be misleading to predict a fixed race-weekend penalty from the mileage figure alone; the controlling FIA decision must be read for an actual case.