Glossary
What does DNQ mean in F1?
Answer
DNQ stands for 'did not qualify'. It marks a driver who failed to qualify for the race, historically by missing the cut in an oversubscribed field or falling outside the 107% rule. It is rare in the modern era, when the grid is smaller than the entry limit, but the code still exists.
What DNQ means
DNQ means "did not qualify": the driver entered the weekend but did not make the race grid.[1] In the crowded fields of the 1980s and early 1990s more cars turned up than were allowed to start, so the slowest were sent home; today, with fewer cars than the maximum, a DNQ is most likely to come from the 107% rule when a driver cannot set a lap within 107% of the pole time.[2]
Related reading
Related reading
Sources
- [1]F1 glossary (Formula1.com) (formula1). Accessed 2026-06-19.
- [2]What DNS, DNF, DNQ and DSQ mean in F1 (Flow Racers) (flowracers). Accessed 2026-06-19.
Published 2026-06-19