A just-for-fun predictions game to play with friends, family or workmates. Pick who finishes where, every session, for the rest of the 2026 season. Closest to the real result wins the round. Most round wins by Abu Dhabi takes the title. No money, no prizes, bragging rights only.
Every group plays in its own league with its own link, players and leaderboard. Official results are shared, so every league scores automatically.
Forgotten your personal code? Whoever runs Race Control can look it up or reset it. Five wrong tries in a row pauses sign-in for that name for ten minutes.
Straight after you join, you choose one favourite driver for the season. You can change your mind until your first round has been scored. After that it stays for the season.
Fan bonus: every time your favourite finishes in the top three of any session (qualifying, sprint or race), one place comes off your score for that round. Choose with your heart, but note that a front-runner pays out more often.
Your favourite shows next to your name with a ♥ so everyone knows who you're backing. You cannot make picks until you have chosen one.
Tap a round in the Paddock walk, then the session tab you want. Each session is its own round with its own picks and its own winner.
| Pick | What it means in Qualifying | What it means in the Race or Sprint |
|---|---|---|
| 1st, 2nd, 3rd | The front row plus third on the grid | The podium |
| 11th | First driver knocked out in Q2 | First driver to miss out on points |
| 21st, 22nd | The back row of the grid | The last two classified finishers |
| Fastest lap | Not picked in qualifying | Who sets the fastest lap of the race or sprint |
Six picks in qualifying, seven in a race or sprint. One driver cannot be picked for two positions. You can change your picks as often as you like until the session locks. Tap Lock in my picks each time you change them, and look for "Saved". Half-finished choices are kept on your device, so an interruption or a reload won't lose them.
Think golf. Low score wins.
Every pick is a guess at where a driver finishes. Your score for that pick is how far out you were.
Do that for every pick and add them up. Lowest total wins the round. Spot on is 0. Miss by twenty and it's 20.
Two small extras
A full example. One player's race, scored pick by pick.
| You said | You picked | They finished | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Antonelli | 1st | 0 spot on |
| 2nd | Russell | 2nd | 0 spot on |
| 3rd | Leclerc | 22nd | 19 22 − 3 |
| 11th | Gasly | 7th | 4 11 − 7 |
| 21st | Pérez | 18th | 3 21 − 18 |
| 22nd | Bottas | 19th | 3 22 − 19 |
| Fastest lap | Verstappen | Antonelli had it | 5 wrong |
| Favourite | Norris | 4th | 0 not top three |
| Total | 34 | ||
Leclerc finishing last cost 19 on his own. That's the game: one brave podium pick can make or break a round. If everyone else scored higher than 34, this player wins the round.
Ties share the win.
Picks lock five minutes before the session starts. Lock times are shown on every round card, with a countdown, in the time zone your league host chose when they set it up (Race Control can change it). Once a session is locked you cannot add or change picks for it.
Other people's picks are hidden until the lock. You can see who is "in" and who hasn't picked yet, but not what they chose. After the lock, everyone's picks show side by side, and once results are in you see the full scoring breakdown.
For New Zealand and Australia, race weekends are mostly overnight: qualifying late Saturday or early Sunday, the race early Monday. In Europe it is a Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Either way, pick the day before and you won't miss a lock.
The game runs for the ten remaining rounds of 2026, from the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid to Abu Dhabi. Every Qualifying and Race is a round. Singapore is a Sprint weekend, so it has four rounds: Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint, Qualifying, and the Race.
The Chequered flag table sorts by round wins, then by average places-off. It also shows rounds played, exact hits, fan bonuses, your best round, and a chart of everyone's table position after each round.
Play as many rounds as you like. You only get a score for rounds you submitted picks for, so missing one does not cost you, but you can't win it either.
The whole weekend in New Zealand time as this device sees it, practice included. Your league page uses the zone your host chose. Practice is just for watching; picks are made on the sessions in bold and lock five minutes before they start.
Loading the calendar…
Official results pull through automatically, usually within an hour or two of a session ending. Fastest lap can arrive a little later than the finishing order. Until it does, nobody is penalised for it.
We use the official classification. Drivers who retire are still classified in order of laps completed, so a driver who crashes on lap 1 is usually 22nd. A driver missing from the results altogether counts as 22nd.
Grid changes happen. Once a weekend's first practice session starts, the app checks the official entry list and updates the drivers you can pick: stand-ins are added, absent drivers are switched off, and returning drivers come back. Before Friday practice the list reflects the previous weekend, so if you hear a driver is out, wait for practice or check with Race Control. A pick for a driver who then doesn't start counts as 22nd.
The Race Control link at the bottom of the main page is the admin desk for your league. It needs the Race Control code you got when the league was created. From there you can:
Results are hidden until you choose to see them. Every device starts with the spoiler shield on, so a result never jumps out at you. Tap Show this result on a session to see just that one, or the Hide results flag at the top of the grid switches it any time. That device then shows no result, score, winner or table until you tap Show this result on a session, and you can still make your race picks. Tap the chip again to switch it off.
The session was delayed or red-flagged before the start. Picks lock five minutes before the scheduled time regardless, unless Race Control reopens them.
A session was cancelled. No results, no round. It simply doesn't count.
Fewer than 22 cars started. The bottom positions are scored against however many cars are classified. Pick for 21st and 22nd as normal.
I picked the wrong favourite. Change it yourself from the picks screen, any time before your first round is scored. After that, only Race Control can clear it.
Something looks wrong. Tell Race Control. Results and picks can be corrected from Race Control, and scores recalculate instantly.
This is a game between friends. No money changes hands through the app, there are no prizes, and it has no connection with Formula 1, the FIA or any team. Driver and team names are used only to describe the picks.
What we store: your league's name, a first name or nickname for each player, the picks, the favourite driver, and the codes you choose. No email addresses, no phone numbers, no payment details. Personal codes need at least six characters. Don't use a real password as one.
Leagues are private. A league shows nothing at all until you sign in: no players, no picks, no leaderboard. Leagues cannot be found by searching for their name, only by their exact link. Even with the link, a newcomer needs the league code to join. Race Control can remove players and issue a new league code at any time.
Results come from public, community-run data feeds and are usually right within an hour or two. Race Control has the final say in your league.
Made by Sarah in Auckland. If it's added something to your season, a koha, a small recognition, is welcome. The game is free and staying that way.
© 2026 Sarah McLeod. All rights reserved.
Lights Out was designed and built by Sarah McLeod. Picking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 21st, 22nd and the fastest lap is a format families and mates have played for years, and no one owns that. What is Sarah's is this app: the favourite driver bonus, the field, Race Control, the words, the layout, the artwork and the code. You are very welcome to play it, run your own league, and share the link with whoever you like.
You may not copy the game or its code, put it up elsewhere, rebadge it under another name, sell it, or present it as your own work. If you would like to use it for something beyond playing, ask first.
Lights Out is an independent, just-for-fun project with no connection to Formula 1, the FIA, Formula One World Championship Limited, or any team. Driver, team and circuit names are used only to describe the picks. Results come from public, community-run data.