Glossary / General

Q3s

8 Episode Mentions

Too Afraid to Ask

Q3 is the last part of F1 qualifying, where the top cars fight for the best starting spots. If someone is doing well “in Q3,” it means they’re consistently fast enough to reach the final qualifying round.

Technical Definition

Q3 is the final segment of F1 qualifying, where the fastest drivers set the grid positions at the front of the field. When the hosts mention “in Q3s,” they’re talking about whether a driver can reach and perform in that last qualifying session repeatedly.

Hear It Discussed

"If Red Bull doesn't sacrifice, he sat cad jar to help Tomax Verstappen in Q3, even with [212.7s] those deployment issues, AI algorithmic deployment issues that Mercedes were battling and..."
Driver Rankings: How did we rank Russell after his nightmare weekend? The Race F1 Podcast 03:27

"The reason why I maybe thought of a six was the fact that he did have some issues in qualifying, which essentially hindered him in his chances to get him to Q3."
Belgian GP Driver Ratings P1 with Matt and Tommy 12:08

"So the fact that he is stretched out a three temp gap over Max Verstappen, a four temp gap to Norris, of course, makes the mistake in Q3 and a five temp gap to his teammate is mighty..."
2026 Belgian GP Qualifying Review The Late Braking F1 Podcast 04:38