How a Formula 1 start works
A Formula 1 race starts from a standstill, and the signal is given by lights. Under the 2026 Formula 1 Sporting Regulations (Section B, Article B5.7), once every car has stopped in its grid slot, red lights on the start gantry come on one after another, one second apart, and the race starts when all of them go out. The regulations leave the moment of lights out to the permanent starter. Formula 1’s own explainer of race starts describes the wait after the fifth light as random and computer-controlled, between 0.2 and 3 seconds.
This page runs the same sequence:
| Time | What you see |
|---|---|
| 0 s | First red light |
| 1 s, 2 s, 3 s | Second, third and fourth lights |
| 4 s | Fifth light: all five are on |
| 4.2 to 7 s | Lights out, at a random moment: go |
That random hold is the whole test. With a fixed pause you could count the beats and press on time without reacting at all. Here, lights out can come after a fifth of a second or after three full seconds, so the only way to a good start is to wait for it.
How to take the test
Click the gantry, tap it, or press Space to start the sequence, then keep your eyes on the lights and your finger resting on the button or key. The moment all five go out, press. Your time is shown in seconds with three decimals, like a timing screen, and the last ten starts are listed under the lights. Pressing while any light is still on, or less than 100 ms after lights out, is a jump start and doesn’t count.
Reading your time
Formula 1 says its drivers launch their cars about 0.2 seconds after lights out, on average. That number is about the car moving off, not a press of a button. Your time here runs from the screen frame where the lights go out to your press, and it also includes the delay of your screen, mouse or touchscreen. The fairest comparison is with yourself, or with friends taking turns on the same device. Your best start is kept on this device, and Share result gives a link that shows your time to whoever opens it.
Getting a better start
- Don’t anticipate. Drivers who try to guess the lights risk a penalty; here a guess shows up as a jump start. Watch for the change instead.
- Look at the whole gantry, not at one light, so you see all of them go out at once.
- Use a wired mouse or the keyboard, and a screen running at a high refresh rate. The refresh rate test shows what yours runs at.
- Warm up. The first few starts are usually the slowest.
For five timed attempts with an average, go back to the classic reaction time test. For a start that you hear rather than see, try the sprint start, and for a start you have to time rather than react to, the drag racing tree.