OpenF1 Formula 1 Data Scraper

Extract Formula 1 race data from the free OpenF1 API — sessions, drivers, Grand Prix meetings, race finishing positions, and weather conditions.

What Does This Actor Do?

OpenF1 Scraper provides access to official F1 telemetry and timing data across 5 modes:

• Sessions — all sessions (races, qualifying, practice) with circuit, country, and timing data
• Drivers — driver roster for any session with team, headshot, and nationality info
• Meetings — Grand Prix event information with circuit and country details
• Positions — final race finishing positions per driver
• Weather — track weather conditions throughout a session (temperature, humidity, wind)

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
mode	String	Data type to fetch	sessions
year	Integer	F1 season year (2023–2025)	2024
sessionType	String	Filter sessions by type	Race
sessionKey	Integer	Session key for drivers/positions/weather	9472
maxItems	Integer	Max records (1–500)	50

Session Types

Value	Description
Race	Grand Prix race
Qualifying	Qualifying session
Sprint	Sprint race
Practice 1	First practice session
Practice 2	Second practice session
Practice 3	Third practice session

Output Format

Sessions

{
  "sessionKey": 9472,
  "sessionName": "Race",
  "sessionType": "Race",
  "year": 2024,
  "meetingKey": 1229,
  "circuitKey": 63,
  "circuitShortName": "Sakhir",
  "countryCode": "BRN",
  "countryName": "Bahrain",
  "location": "Sakhir",
  "dateStart": "2024-03-02T15:00:00+00:00",
  "dateEnd": "2024-03-02T17:00:00+00:00",
  "mode": "sessions",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00"
}

Drivers

{
  "driverNumber": 1,
  "fullName": "Max VERSTAPPEN",
  "nameAcronym": "VER",
  "teamName": "Red Bull Racing",
  "teamColour": "3671C6",
  "countryCode": "NED",
  "headshotUrl": "https://www.formula1.com/content/dam/fom-website/drivers/M/MAXVER01_Max_Verstappen/maxver01.png",
  "sessionKey": 9472,
  "mode": "drivers",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00"
}

Race Positions

{
  "driverNumber": 1,
  "position": 1,
  "sessionKey": 9472,
  "meetingKey": 1229,
  "date": "2024-03-02T16:59:38+00:00",
  "mode": "positions",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00"
}

Weather

{
  "sessionKey": 9472,
  "date": "2024-03-02T14:03:56.523000+00:00",
  "airTemperature": 18.9,
  "trackTemperature": 26.5,
  "humidity": 46.0,
  "windSpeed": 0.9,
  "windDirection": 162,
  "pressure": 1017.1,
  "rainfall": 0.0,
  "mode": "weather",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00+00:00"
}

Finding Session Keys

To find the sessionKey for a specific race:

1. Run with mode=sessions and your desired year and sessionType=Race
2. Find the session in the output for your target Grand Prix
3. Use its sessionKey for drivers, positions, or weather modes

FAQ

Q: Is an API key required? A: No. OpenF1 is completely free and open — no registration or API key needed.

Q: What years of data are available? A: The OpenF1 API covers 2023 onwards (when live telemetry data collection began).

Q: How accurate are the positions? A: The positions mode returns the final position per driver at the end of the session based on the last recorded position entry.

Q: What is the sessionKey for qualifying vs race? A: Each session (practice, qualifying, sprint, race) within a Grand Prix has its own unique sessionKey. Use mode=sessions to discover all keys for a given year.

Q: How many weather readings are there per session? A: Typically 100–300 readings per race session, captured approximately every 30 seconds.