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Formula One (F1)

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Revision as of 14:51, 20 May 2021 by Jhampton2000 (talk | contribs)
Scanner frequencies for Formula 1 racing. Because F1 travels all over the world, you should verify whether scanners are legal in that country before bringing one to a race.

Team Radios

The vast majority of Formula 1 teams and officials (FIA and FOM) use a single TETRA digital trunked radio system for communications. This is provided by Riedel Communications. This provides up to 32 voice channels operating on x8 25khz wide frequency pairs each with 4 individual slots. Riedel supply Motorola MTP850 portable radios and Riedel MAX headsets to the teams. This system does not use encryption.


Since 2020, the Williams F1 Team switched from Riedel to a Kenwood NXDN Nexedge digital radio system supplied by MRTC Ltd. For 2021, McLaren F1 have also moved to this MRTC system. MRTC supply UHF Kenwood NX3320 portable radios. This system uses the NXDN9600 protocol. This system does not use encryption.

Team Frequencies

The Riedel TETRA system operates in the 420-430MHz range in 12.5kHz steps for the TETRA Base (downlink) repeaters. The subscriber (uplink) frequencies are in the 410-420MHz range, -10MHz below the Base frequency. The TETRA MCC is 262 and MNC is 0007. The system does not use any TEA encryption. The frequency allocations vary between races. The list below shows typical allocations for the 2020 season.

The MRTC Nexedge system operates in the 450-470MHz range in 12.5kHz steps. The frequency allocations vary between races. The list below shows typical allocations for the 2020 season. There are normally 2 half-duplex frequency pairs (1 per car) and 4 simplex frequency pairs (2 pitcrew channels, 2 spare) for each event.
TETRA Channel DOWNLINK FREQUENCY (MHz) UPLINK FREQUENCY (MHz)
1 425.6750 415.6750
2 426.7250 416.7250
3 428.9500 418.9500
4 429.1250 419.1250
5 429.3000 419.3000
7 429.4750 419.4750
6 429.6500 419.6500
8 429.9250 419.9250
Williams MRTC Channel REPEATER FREQUENCY (MHz) MOBILE FREQUENCY (MHz)
Car 1 469.6625 459.7875
Pit 1 n/a 455.2125
Car 2 468.5625 458.6125
Pit 2 n/a 462.0500
Spare 1 n/a 464.0125
Spare 2 n/a 466.9250
McLaren MRTC Channel REPEATER FREQUENCY (MHz) MOBILE FREQUENCY (MHz)
Car 1 TBC TBC
Pit 1 n/a TBC
Car 2 TBC TBC
Pit 2 n/a TBC
Spare 1 n/a TBC
Spare 2 n/a TBC

Old Team Radios and Frequencies

TETRA radios were first introduced by the Sauber F1 Team in 2006. By 2016 the Riedel TETRA system became the de facto standard across most of the teams. Up until that point analogue radios were commonplace, with different digital radios introduced over time:

  • McLaren: From 2014 to 2019 McLaren ran an encrypted NXDN9600 Kenwood radio system. From 2005 to 2013 they ran a bespoke Kenwood encrypted McLaren Special II VHF and later cross-band radio system. For 2020 McLaren switched to the Riedel TETRA system.
  • Ferrari: From 1998 to 2006 Ferrari ran an Ascom Pentacom VHF encrypted radio system. From 2007 to 2014 they ran a private Selenia encrypted TETRA radio system.
  • Red Bull: Until 2010 Red Bull ran a UHF Kenwood analogue radio system
  • Toro Rosso: For 2014 Toro Rosso ran a VHF MRTC NXDN9600 Kenwood radio system
  • Renault: From 2011 to 2014 Renault ran a UHF Motorola analogue car-link system linked to the Riedel TETRA pit radio system
  • BAR-Honda: Until 2006 BAR/Honda ran a UHF Kenwood analogue radio system
  • BMW-Sauber: Until 2007 BMW/Sauber ran a UHF Kenwood analogue radio system
  • Force India: Until 2009 Force India ran a cross-band Vertex analogue radio system
  • Williams: Until 2012 Williams ran a VHF MRTC Kenwood analogue radio system


Old Team Frequencies


Other sources of old frequencies are (1,2,3,4).

Old Officials Frequencies

Event Frequencies

2008 F1 Schedule

US Grand Prix