After the chequered flag

The race ends when the leader crosses the line and the chequered flag is waved. Everyone else takes the flag the next time they cross the line, even if they're a lap or more behind. But the result you see on TV at that moment is only provisional. Cars still have to be weighed and checked, and the stewards may still be looking at incidents from the race.

#The cool-down lap

After the flag, drivers do one more lap at reduced speed and head straight to the parc fermé area. The rules say they must get there without unnecessary delay, without picking anything up from anyone and without help, except from marshals if the car has stopped.

There's one exception to that. The winner is allowed to celebrate on the way back, usually with doughnuts (spinning the car in circles), as long as it's safe, doesn't call the legality of the car into question and doesn't hold up the podium. A car that burns its tyres down or loses parts doing doughnuts can end up underweight or failing checks, so teams sometimes ask their driver to hold off.

You'll often see drivers weaving off line on the cool-down lap. They're driving through the "marbles", the bits of worn rubber that collect off the racing line. It's widely believed that this picks up rubber on the tyres and adds a little weight to the car before it's weighed.

If a car breaks down after the flag, marshals take it to parc fermé.

#Parc fermé

Parc fermé ("closed park" in French) is a secure area where cars are held after the race so nobody can tamper with them before they're checked. The top three cars usually park in front of the podium, in the order they finished. The rest go to a separate area, usually in the pit lane or the FIA garage.

Only FIA officials can work on the cars there. A maximum of three team members per car can come in, and only to fit cooling fans or do jobs the officials ask for. The parc fermé rules apply from the moment the car crosses the line. You can read about the rules that apply between qualifying and the race on the parc fermé page.

#Weighing

Any classified car can be weighed after the race. Drivers must stay fully dressed in their race kit, including helmet and gloves, until they've been weighed. If a driver gets out of the car before it's weighed, they have to be weighed separately, and their weight is added to the car's.

A car that's under the minimum weight can be disqualified, unless the shortfall comes from losing a part in an accident. Nothing can be added to or taken off the car once it's been picked for weighing. George Russell crossed the line first at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix but was disqualified because his Mercedes was 1.5 kg underweight, after the team had run a one-stop strategy that wore his tyres down heavily. See weight and dimensions for the current minimum weight.

#Technical checks

Weighing is only one of the checks. After every race the FIA's technical delegate picks cars for more detailed inspection. That can include measuring the wear on the plank under the floor, checking parts such as the rear wing against the rules, and taking a fuel sample, so teams have to leave enough fuel in the car to provide one.

Failing any of these can cost a driver their result. At the 2023 United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified after their planks were found to have worn too much. At the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel lost second place because his Aston Martin didn't have enough fuel left for a sample. See scrutineering and technical checks and disqualification.

#The podium

The top three drivers go to the podium, along with a representative of the winning team. The national anthem of the winning driver is played, followed by the anthem for the winning team's nationality. Trophies are handed out, and then comes the traditional spraying of sparkling wine (or a non-alcoholic alternative in some countries).

If no points are given out, for example because a race was stopped too early to count, there's no podium ceremony, although the TV interviews still take place.

Before the podium, the top three wait in the cool-down room, where they can watch replays and catch their breath. After it come TV interviews and the official FIA press conference.

#How the result is decided

Drivers are classified by how many laps they've completed. Among drivers who've done the same number of laps, the order is whoever crossed the line first.

To be classified at all, a driver must have completed at least 90% of the laps the winner covered, rounded down. In a 58-lap race that's 52 laps. So a driver who retired on lap 53 is still classified, and can score points if they're high enough up the order. A driver who retired on lap 51 is listed as not classified. The full scoring rules are on the points system page.

The first result published after the race is provisional. It can still change if:

• the stewards hand out time penalties for incidents during the race;
• a car fails a technical check;
• a team protests another team's result, or an appeal is lodged.

Once the stewards have finished their investigations and the time for protests has passed, the result is confirmed, though it can still be changed later on appeal. See protests, appeals and the right of review for how that works.