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F1TV Auth Setup

F1TV Auth connects optional Formula 1 live timing access to F1 Sensor through the F1TV Token Helper. Use this page when you want live Track Map, Pit Stops, Championship Prediction, formation start refinements, or earlier incident candidates during an active Formula 1 session.

How it works​

F1 Sensor works without F1TV Auth by using public live timing. F1TV Auth adds a short-lived live timing authorization value so extra F1TV-authenticated features can update when Formula 1 publishes the needed data.

The normal pairing flow uses Home Assistant and the F1TV Token Helper:

  1. Install or update F1 Sensor in Home Assistant.
  2. Install F1TV Token Helper from the Chrome Web Store.
  3. Start Connect F1TV access with Token Helper in Home Assistant.
  4. Open the pairing page from Home Assistant.
  5. Open the helper extension, sign in to Formula 1 if needed, select Fetch, then select Send to Home Assistant.
  6. Verify that public live timing still works and that F1TV live data is available when the token is valid.
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This flow does not ask Home Assistant for your F1TV username or password. The token is extracted from your own browser session by the separate helper and sent only to your own Home Assistant pairing callback.

Availability​

AreaExpected behavior
Public live timingContinues to work without any token
F1TV tokenOptional and sent through Home Assistant pairing
Token lifetimeShort-lived and must be replaced when expired
Token renewalNot automatic
F1TV passwordNever entered into Home Assistant
HelperSeparate Chrome or Chromium extension
Auth failureDowngrades to public live timing
Extra live dataRequires a valid token during live sessions

F1TV Auth can add live features such as:

Live Track Map
Pit Stops during live sessions
Championship Prediction during live sessions
Formation start improvements
Earlier incident candidates

In Live Mode, these features should not be expected to update with public live timing alone. They can update during live sessions after you add a valid F1TV token and Formula 1 publishes the required data.

Some F1TV Auth features also have replay support. For example, Championship Prediction and Pit Stops can use the recorded session archive in Replay Mode, but they require F1TV Auth during a real live session.

If the token is missing, expired, or rejected, extra live data becomes unavailable or stops receiving F1TV-only updates while public live timing continues.

Incident detection and F1TV Auth​

Likely on-track incident detection works with public live timing and does not require F1TV Auth.

F1TV Auth can add early-warning candidate signals from extra live car data, such as very low speed before a car is officially marked as stopped. These signals are correlated with flag or Safety Car context and should be treated as candidates, not proof of a crash. Public live timing must continue to work if the token is missing, expired, or rejected.

When Track Map is active, incident events may include a compact location summary such as position status, sector, and stale state. Location context can improve confidence or suppress obvious pit-lane false positives, but incident detection must still work without F1TV Auth.

Prerequisites​

Before you start, make sure you have:

  1. F1 Sensor installed in Home Assistant.
  2. Access to Home Assistant logs if you need to troubleshoot.
  3. A Formula 1 account with an active F1 TV subscription that includes Essential Live Timing.
  4. Chrome or another Chromium-based browser.
  5. The F1TV Token Helper extension installed.
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F1 TV Access is enough for F1TV Auth in regions where Formula 1 offers it. You do not need F1 TV Pro or F1 TV Premium just to pair F1TV Auth, although those plans also work when they include the same live timing access.

Enable debug logging before reporting issues. See Debug Logging and Logs for the recommended logging setup and log collection steps.

Step 1 - Start pairing from Home Assistant​

In Home Assistant:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Devices & services.
  3. Open F1 Sensor.
  4. Select Reconfigure.
  5. Select Connect F1TV access with Token Helper.
  6. Select Open website when Home Assistant shows the external step.

Home Assistant opens the F1TV Token Helper pairing page. Keep that tab open and active before opening the extension.

Pairing sessions are short-lived. If the helper says the pairing expired, return to Home Assistant and start the pairing again.

Step 2 - Send F1TV access to Home Assistant​

Use the helper from the same browser where you sign in to Formula 1:

  1. Keep the pairing page as the active tab.
  2. Open the F1TV Token Helper extension popup.
  3. If the helper says no token is available, select Sign in and sign in to Formula 1.
  4. Return to the helper and select Fetch.
  5. When the helper is ready, select Send to Home Assistant.

The helper stores only the Home Assistant pairing session temporarily while you sign in. It does not store the F1TV token permanently.

Home Assistant should finish the pairing, save the live timing authorization value, and reload the integration.

Step 3 - Understand token lifetime​

F1TV tokens are short-lived. They are usually valid for only a few days, so you should expect to repeat the helper flow and replace the saved token when it expires.

The integration exposes two helper sensors so you can monitor token health from Home Assistant:

sensor.f1_f1tv_token_status
sensor.f1_f1tv_token_expires_at

Use sensor.f1_f1tv_token_status to see whether the token is valid, expiring soon, expired, invalid, or rejected. Use sensor.f1_f1tv_token_expires_at to see when the current token expires.

The integration also exposes two helper buttons when F1TV access is available:

button.f1_refresh_f1tv_access
button.f1_clear_f1tv_access

Use button.f1_refresh_f1tv_access to start a new Token Helper pairing from Home Assistant. Use button.f1_clear_f1tv_access to remove the saved token and return to public live timing only.

When the token expires or is rejected, public live timing should continue to work. Only the F1TV-authenticated live data needs a fresh token.

Step 4 - Verify public fallback first​

Before relying on auth-only behavior, confirm that public live timing still works.

During an active or upcoming Formula 1 session, check that public live entities continue to update, such as:

sensor.f1_track_status
sensor.f1_session_status
sensor.f1_race_control
sensor.f1_driver_positions

Then confirm that F1TV-only data becomes available after a valid helper pairing.

Troubleshooting​

The helper does not show Home Assistant pairing​

Keep the pairing page as the active tab and open the helper again. If that does not work, copy the full browser URL from the pairing page, open Pairing link in the helper, paste the URL, and select Connect.

The helper opens but only manual export is available​

Make sure you started Connect F1TV access with Token Helper from Home Assistant before opening the helper.

Home Assistant rejects the pairing​

Start a new pairing session in Home Assistant. The old session may have expired, already been used, or been created before Home Assistant was restarted.

Public live timing stops working​

That is a bug. F1TV auth failure should downgrade only the extra F1TV-authenticated live features. Public live timing should continue without a token.