According to the sporting regulations of Formula 1, the length of the race distance is equal to or minimum exceeds 305 km (260 km in the Monaco Grand Prix ). But the race ends prematurely on a temporary limit in one of two cases:
- The net race time exceeded 2 hours.
- The total time of the race since the start exceeded 4 hours (including stopping periods due to red flags ).
Due to the high average speed of Formula 1 cars, racers, in most cases, manage to cover the distance in the allotted time. However, on slow tracks and / or in bad weather conditions, an early stop of the race is possible.
At the end of the race time limit, the circle where the leader is located is announced last.
List of races ending due to a 2 hour time limit
| The Grand Prix | Race duration | Scheduled laps | Circles completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Grand Prix 1974 | 2: 00: 29,56 | 90 | 84 |
| 1975 Monaco Grand Prix | 2: 01: 21,31 | 78 | 75 |
| Brazilian Grand Prix 1981 | 2: 00: 23,66 | 63 | 62 |
| Portuguese Grand Prix 1985 | 2: 00: 28,006 | 69 | 67 |
| Hungarian Grand Prix 1986 | 2: 00: 34,508 | 77 | 76 |
| US Grand Prix 1989 | 2: 01: 33,133 | 81 | 75 |
| 1989 Australian Grand Prix | 2: 00: 17,421 | 81 | 70 |
| US Grand Prix 1991 | 2: 00: 47,828 | 82 | 81 |
| 1996 Monaco Grand Prix | 2: 00: 45,629 | 78 | 75 |
| Monaco Grand Prix 1997 | 2: 00: 05,654 | 78 | 62 |
| 2008 Monaco Grand Prix | 2: 00: 42,742 | 78 | 76 |
| Singapore Grand Prix 2012 | 2: 00: 26,144 | 61 | 59 |
| Singapore Grand Prix 2017 | 2: 03: 23.544 | 61 | 58 |
The total time of a number of races also exceeded 2 hours (for example, the 2010 Korean Grand Prix lasted 2: 48: 20,810), but these races stopped because of red flags. So the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix lasted 4: 04: 39.537. Since the 2012 season , the maximum race time is limited to 4 hours, but in practice this rule has not yet been applied.