GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
What is the 2026 F1 rule for mandatory rookie practice outings?
For each F1 car entered in the Championship, the Competitor must use an eligible driver in FP1 or FP2 at two Competitions. The driver must have participated in no more than two Championship Races in their career, and the outing must meet the rule’s licence, equipment, pit-lane participation and advance-notice conditions. “Rookie” is informal shorthand; the regulation uses the career-race threshold.
For F1 viewers asking why a less-experienced driver appears in a team’s practice session. · Updated
The rule applies to every entered car at two competitions
Article B1.7.3 of the FIA’s 2026 Section B Sporting Regulations requires each Competitor to use a qualifying driver in FP1 or FP2 at two Championship Competitions for each F1 car entered. The driver must not have participated in more than two Championship Races over their career. The test is the driver’s career race participation count, not whether they are in their first F1 season.
The outing has specific conditions
Being within the career-race limit is not enough by itself. B1.7.3 also sets conditions for the driver, car and session:
- The driver carries the competition number allocated to them.
- The driver uses the power unit and tyres allocated to the nominated driver they replace.
- The driver holds a Super Licence or Free Practice Super Licence.
- In the nominated FP1 or FP2 session, the driver takes the assigned F1 car out of the Pit Lane at least once. No other driver may take that car out of the Pit Lane during that session.
- The Competitor informs the FIA in writing seven days before the relevant Competition, identifying the driver, the entered car and the session.
Additional-driver permission is a separate rule
Article B1.7.4 separately permits additional drivers in FP1 and FP2 under its own conditions: the FIA must receive the car and driver plan at least 24 hours before scheduled FP1; changes less than two hours before FP1 require the stewards’ consent; no more than two drivers may be used in one session; and conditions B1.7.3(a)–(c) apply. This permission does not replace the two-Competition requirement in B1.7.3. In Issue 09, the repeated older mandatory-outing paragraph shown struck through under B1.7.4 is deleted text, not an additional current requirement.
A hypothetical car across two practice sessions
Suppose fictional Car A uses fictional Driver Vale in FP1 at fictional Competition One and FP2 at fictional Competition Two. Vale has zero career Championship Race participations. Assume Vale carries the allocated competition number, uses the power unit and tyres assigned to the nominated driver being replaced, holds a Super Licence or Free Practice Super Licence, takes Car A out of the Pit Lane at least once in each nominated session with no other driver taking Car A out during either session, and the Competitor gives the FIA written notice seven days before each Competition naming Vale, Car A and the session. On those stipulated facts, zero career Championship Races is within the threshold. A driver with exactly two is also within it; a driver with three is not. These are fictional eligibility examples, not real team, driver or calendar claims.
Related questions
Does a driver with two career Championship Races meet the threshold?
Yes. B1.7.3 excludes drivers who have participated in more than two Championship Races, so exactly two is within the limit. The licence, equipment, session participation and written-notice conditions still apply.
Can the additional-driver permission count as the required outing?
B1.7.4 is a separate permission for additional drivers in FP1 and FP2. The required two-Competition outings for each entered car are set out in B1.7.3; do not treat the struck-through duplicate wording under B1.7.4 as a current rule.