Replay Mode

Replay Mode lets you watch historical F1 sessions with full Home Assistant integration. When you play back a recorded race or qualifying from F1 TV or another service, all your automations and dashboards work exactly as they would during a live broadcast.

Your lights flash red on a red flag. Your dashboard shows live timing. Race Control messages trigger notifications. Everything stays perfectly in sync with what you see on screen.

How it works

Replay Mode downloads session data from Formula 1's public archive and plays it back through the same data pipeline used during live sessions. By starting playback at the same moment the session begins on your TV, all live entities stay synchronized with the broadcast.

Entities

Replay Mode adds several control entities to Home Assistant.

Configuration entities

Entity	Purpose
`select.f1_replay_year`	Select the season year
`select.f1_replay_session`	Select which session to replay
`select.f1_replay_start_reference`	Choose where playback starts
`button.f1_replay_load`	Download and prepare the selected session
`button.f1_replay_play`	Start or resume playback
`button.f1_replay_pause`	Pause playback
`button.f1_replay_stop`	Stop playback and return to idle
`button.f1_replay_refresh_sessions`	Refresh the session list

Media player

Entity	Purpose
`media_player.f1_replay_player`	Standard media player with play, pause, stop and position tracking

The media player entity lets you control replay using any media player integration or remote control. It reports current position, duration, and playback state, making it easy to integrate with other media players in your setup.

Status sensor

Entity	Purpose
`sensor.f1_replay_status`	Shows current replay state and progress

Using Replay Mode

Step 1 - Select a session

Use select.f1_replay_year to choose the season
Use select.f1_replay_session to pick a session from that year

The session list shows all completed sessions from the selected year, with the most recent first.

Data availability

Session data is typically available 15–60 minutes after a session ends. If you just finished watching a live session, wait a bit before the replay data becomes available.

Step 2 - Choose the start reference

Use select.f1_replay_start_reference to choose where playback begins:

Formation start (race/sprint) - Playback starts from the formation lap. This is the default and recommended for races and sprints, since you can focus on watching the start rather than pressing a button at lights out.
Session live - Playback starts from lights out (races) or pit exit open (practice/qualifying). This is the most precise option but requires you to press play at the exact moment.

info

The formation start option only applies to race and sprint sessions. For practice and qualifying, playback always starts from when the session went live.

Formation lap timing

The formation lap start point is estimated with approximately one second accuracy. The live data stream does not provide an exact marker for when the formation lap begins, so there may be a small offset compared to your broadcast.

Step 3 - Load the session

Press button.f1_replay_load to download the session data.

The sensor.f1_replay_status shows download progress. Session data is cached locally, so loading the same session again is faster.

Step 4 - Sync with your broadcast

Start the session on your TV or streaming service. When you see the session begin, press button.f1_replay_play or use media_player.f1_replay_player at that exact moment.

For races and sprints (with formation start reference): Press play when the formation lap begins.

For practice and qualifying (or session live reference): Press play when the pit exit opens and cars start leaving the garage.

From this point, all live sensors update in sync with what you see on screen.

Step 5 - Control playback

If you pause your TV, pause the replay to stay in sync. When you resume, resume the replay.

Pause - Press button.f1_replay_pause or pause media_player.f1_replay_player
Resume - Press button.f1_replay_play or play media_player.f1_replay_player
Stop - Press button.f1_replay_stop to end playback and return to idle

Media Player Entity

The media_player.f1_replay_player entity provides standard media player controls for replay.

State (enum)

One of: idle, buffering, playing, paused

Features

Play, pause, and stop controls
Position and duration tracking
Works with any media player card or remote integration

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description
media_title	string	Name of the selected session
media_position	number	Current position in seconds
media_duration	number	Total duration in seconds
replay_state	string	Replay state (`idle`, `selected`, `loading`, `ready`, `playing`, `paused`)
selected_session	string	Name of the selected session
selected_session_id	string	Internal session identifier (best effort)
playback_position_s	number	Current position in seconds
playback_remaining_s	number	Remaining time in seconds
playback_total_s	number	Total playback duration in seconds
session_start_offset_s	number	Start offset in seconds from the underlying session archive (best effort)

Replay Status Sensor

The sensor.f1_replay_status entity tracks the current state and provides detailed attributes.

State (enum)

One of: idle, selected, loading, ready, playing, paused

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description
selected_session	string	Name of the selected session
download_progress	number	Download progress percentage (0–100)
download_error	string	Error message if download failed
playback_position_s	number	Current playback position in seconds
playback_position_formatted	string	Current position as HH:MM:SS
playback_total_s	number	Total playback duration in seconds
playback_total_formatted	string	Total duration as HH:MM:SS
paused	boolean	True when playback is paused
sessions_available	number	Number of sessions available for the selected year
selected_year	number	Currently selected year
index_year	number	Year that the session index was loaded from (best effort)
index_status	string	Index status such as `ok`, `no_data`, or `error` (best effort)
index_error	string	Error details when index fetch fails (best effort)

Example: Sync with Apple TV

This automation keeps replay in sync with your Apple TV. When you pause the Apple TV, the replay pauses. When you play, it resumes.

automation:
  - alias: "Pause F1 replay when Apple TV pauses"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: media_player.apple_tv
        to: "paused"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: media_player.f1_replay_player
        state: "playing"
    action:
      - service: media_player.media_pause
        target:
          entity_id: media_player.f1_replay_player

  - alias: "Resume F1 replay when Apple TV plays"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: media_player.apple_tv
        to: "playing"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: media_player.f1_replay_player
        state: "paused"
    action:
      - service: media_player.media_play
        target:
          entity_id: media_player.f1_replay_player

Replace media_player.apple_tv with your actual media player entity. This works with any media player that reports play and pause states.

Limitations

While replay is active, the integration does not receive live data. Stop the replay to return to live mode.
The live delay calibration feature is disabled during replay.

How it works​

Entities​

Configuration entities​

Media player​

Status sensor​

Using Replay Mode​

Step 1 - Select a session​

Step 2 - Choose the start reference​

Step 3 - Load the session​

Step 4 - Sync with your broadcast​

Step 5 - Control playback​

Media Player Entity​

Replay Status Sensor​

Example: Sync with Apple TV​

Limitations​