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Connect optional F1TV access

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, Team Radio, 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 after Formula 1 accepts the token.
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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​

Use the data availability matrix to check whether your chosen feature needs live authentication. Public live timing works without a token; Replay Mode uses archived data separately.

Incident detection and F1TV Auth​

Confirmed alerts work with public live timing. Authenticated car data can improve earlier candidate signals, and Track Map can add location context. See Incident Detection before enabling early alerts.

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 the required live timing access; check current availability.
  4. Chrome or another Chromium-based browser.
  5. The F1TV Token Helper extension installed.

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 original pairing tab, reopen 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. F1 Sensor automatically tries to renew them during their final 24 hours, using the session already contained in the saved token. Home Assistant also attempts renewal if it starts with an expired token and a usable session. You can close your browser after pairing.

The underlying Formula 1 session has an observed lifetime of about 30 days from the original sign-in. Automatic token renewal does not extend that deadline, and Formula 1 can revoke the session earlier. When the session expires or is rejected, use the Home Assistant repair or Token Helper to sign in again and reconnect. Tokens without a usable session require manual renewal.

Temporary connection failures are retried with increasing delays. Token expiry monitoring continues while Home Assistant retries, so a failed request does not hide an expired token.

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 locally well-formed and unexpired, expiring soon, expired, invalid, or rejected. A locally well-formed token is not proven authentic until Formula 1 accepts it during an upstream request. 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 request renewal. If a new browser sign-in is needed, it opens the existing Token Helper pairing notification. Temporary failures are retried automatically without asking you to sign in again. Use button.f1_clear_f1tv_access to remove the saved token and return to public live timing only.

The saved token is part of the Home Assistant config entry and normally follows it into Home Assistant backups. Treat shared backups as credentials. If you suspect exposure, clear the saved token and revoke the Formula 1 browser session before pairing again.

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 Formula 1 accepts the paired token.

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.