A team of specially appointed scrutineers has the power to check cars at any point during a Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they fully comply with technical and safety regulations.

Every car is initially examined on the Thursday of a race meeting (Wednesday at Monaco) and a car cannot take part in the event until it has passed scrutineering. A car must be re-examined by scrutineers if any significant changes are made to it by the team or if it is involved in an accident.

In addition to scrutineering, cars are also weighed during the Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they comply with minimum weight requirements (640kg). Cars taking part in Q1 and Q2 are called in at random to be weighed, while all cars participating in Q3 are weighed after the session. Classified finishers are weighed again after the race.

Any competitor failing to meet the minimum weight may lose their qualifying times or be excluded from the race results unless this is due to the accidental loss of part of the car.