Track limits in F1 2026: every deleted lap time, counted

How track limits work

The white lines at the edge of the circuit mark the track. A driver who goes beyond them with all four wheels is judged to have left it, and a lap set that way is deleted. The deletion documents cite Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2 c) of the FIA International Sporting Code and Article B1.8.6 of the FIA F1 Regulations.

In practice and qualifying a deleted lap simply does not count, which in qualifying can decide who goes through to the next part. In a race the lap still counts towards the distance, but its time is struck and the offence goes on the driver's tally: after repeated breaches the driver is shown the black and white flag, and the next one is reported to the stewards, usually for a 5-second penalty. Our deleted lap time guide explains it in more detail.

When the laps go

Nearly two-thirds of all deletions - 1,107 - came in practice, where drivers explore the limits and the timing matters least. Qualifying and sprint qualifying accounted for 205, the races for 352 and the sprints for 54.

Where: the circuits and corners

The United States Grand Prix in Austin stands out with 284 deletions, more than three times the average weekend. At the other end, Shanghai produced the fewest, 22, then Zandvoort 26 - both sprint weekends, with a single practice session. The Spanish Grand Prix at its new Madrid circuit, in its first year on the calendar, was third with 166.

About a quarter of all deletions came at just six of the 173 corners involved. Turn 10 in Monaco caught drivers 151 times on its own, Austin's Turns 12 and 20 another 94 and 81, Turn 1 at Monza 55, Turn 14 in Montreal 49 and Turn 2 in Singapore 44.

Who: the drivers

Carlos Sainz lost the most lap times over the season, 124, one more than Kimi Antonelli (123), ahead of Lando Norris (117), Alex Albon (113) and Lance Stroll (92). Practice numbers partly reflect how many laps a driver ran and how hard they pushed, so the sessions that count are more telling:

• Races: Kimi Antonelli lost 33 lap times, Lance Stroll 28 and Carlos Sainz 26.
• Qualifying and sprint qualifying: Lance Stroll lost 18 and George Russell 16; Franco Colapinto, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz 14 each.

When it becomes a penalty

Deleted laps rarely turn into penalties. Across all 2026 races and sprints, the stewards gave eight penalties for repeatedly leaving the track:

• Lance Stroll - four 5-second penalties: one in Monaco (decision) and three in the same race at Silverstone, for separate breaches on laps 33, 35 and 42 (first, second, third).
• Kimi Antonelli - three 5-second penalties: the Miami sprint (decision), Barcelona-Catalunya, where he left the track four times (decision), and Silverstone (decision).
• Charles Leclerc - a drive-through after the Miami race, turned into 20 seconds (decision).

Leaving the track and gaining an advantage - typically gaining or keeping a place by going off the circuit - is a separate offence the stewards judge case by case. It cost Nico Hülkenberg 10 seconds in the Canadian sprint (decision) and 5 seconds in the British sprint (decision), George Russell 5 seconds in Austin (decision) and Charles Leclerc 5 seconds in Mexico City, for passing Lewis Hamilton off the track (decision).

Not track limits: yellow flags

The stewards deleted another 137 lap times for not slowing enough through a sector under double waved yellow flags - most of them in practice, led by 13 in the third session at Spa and 12 in the first session in Montreal. Those are a safety matter rather than a track-limits one, so they are left out of the figures above. Yellow flags were also behind most of 2026's penalty points - see why nobody is near a race ban.

How we counted

• We read every 2026 stewards' document listing deleted lap times on the FIA's event pages - 126 of them, each in full rather than the summary - and counted each line of the table as one deletion. A corrected document replaces the original. Two deletions published as their own decisions are included.
• Each line names the driver, the corner and the lap. A lap caught at two corners is listed twice - 64 lines repeat a lap already listed - so the number of distinct laps is slightly lower, about 1,650. Some deleted laps were in- or out-laps that would not have counted anyway; they are still deletions, so they are included.
• 2026 rounds 1-19, up to the Mexico City Grand Prix. Every document links to the FIA original from its page on this site.

More from the stewards' record: how often the stewards change a race result.