F1 reaction time test

How a Formula 1 start works

On the grid, with every car stopped in its slot, five red lights come on, one per second. Once all five are lit, the race director waits for a pause that is never the same, and they all go out at once. Lights out is the start. There is no green light.

That variable pause is what makes the start hard: if it were fixed, you could just count. This test works the same way. The lights come on at the same rhythm as in a Grand Prix, and the hold with all five lit changes on every try, between two tenths and three seconds.

What this F1 start simulator measures

The time between the lights going out and your tap, in thousandths of a second. You do five starts and get your average and your best, because a single one can be lucky. Your record is saved in this browser. It is a free F1 start timer: no download and no sign-up.

If you tap while any light is on, it is a jump start: it does not count and you go again. In a race, each grid slot has a sensor that detects a car moving too early, and it is penalised.

What is a good reaction time?

Human reaction to a light is around two to three tenths of a second. Under 0.200 s is an excellent time; 0.200 to 0.250 is very fast; 0.250 to 0.300 is average. Bear in mind that your screen, mouse and browser add a few milliseconds of delay that do not exist on a real grid, so on a phone or a slow monitor you will score a little worse.

Below one tenth it is no longer a reaction, it is guessing the moment. That is exactly the cut-off in athletics: a sprinter who leaves less than 0.100 s after the gun is disqualified for a false start.

How to improve your reaction

Watch the lights, not the button, and keep your finger resting on it. Do not try to guess when they go out: the hold is random and anticipating will give you more jump starts than good times. On a keyboard, the space bar is usually a little quicker than the mouse.