What is the 107% rule in F1?

How the rule works

During qualifying, the fastest lap set in Q1 (the opening 18-minute session) becomes the reference. Any driver whose best Q1 time is slower than 107% of that reference is, by default, not permitted to start the race^[2].

A worked example: if the Q1 pole reference is 1:12.000, then 107% of that is 1:17.040. Any car slower than 1:17.040 fails the threshold.

When stewards grant exceptions

The rule is administered with judgment, not as a hard cutoff. Stewards regularly grant exceptions when^[1]:

• Adverse weather (wet practice or qualifying) compressed the available representative running.
• The car or driver demonstrated competitive pace in earlier practice sessions.
• A technical issue specifically affected the qualifying lap.
• Force majeure conditions (red flags during the driver's Q1 attempt) prevented a clean lap.

In modern F1 the rule is almost never enforced as a race exclusion because either the field is closely packed enough that no one falls outside the threshold, or stewards find practice pace sufficient.

Historical context

The 107% rule was introduced in 1996 and dropped in 2003 when the qualifying format changed, then reintroduced in 2011 with the introduction of the three-stage knockout qualifying^[2]. It exists primarily as a safety mechanism: a car significantly slower than the rest of the field on a high-speed circuit creates a closing-speed hazard for the cars approaching to lap it.

Why it rarely bites in modern F1

:::analysis Three reasons the 107% rule is more theoretical than active in modern grids:

1. Field convergence. The gap between front and back of the grid in pure pace terms has narrowed substantially since 2014. The slowest car on a typical weekend is usually within 3-4% of pole, well inside the 107% threshold.
2. Knockout qualifying structure. With Q1 lasting 18 minutes and most teams running multiple representative laps, an honest banker lap usually clears the threshold.
3. Steward discretion. Even when a car narrowly misses, stewards have consistently allowed cars to start when practice times demonstrated competitive pace. :::

Where you'll see it discussed

The 107% rule comes up most often in commentary during:

• Wet qualifying sessions where slower teams struggle for representative dry-track times.
• Mechanical-issue Q1 exits where a driver completes only one lap.
• Streets circuits like Monaco where bunched qualifying can mathematically put the back rows close to the threshold.

For the related rule about race classification, see what is the 90% rule.