How the starting-grid generator automatically lays out 22 drivers

A full Formula 1 grid is awkward to design by hand. Twenty-two names, numbers, team colours, and photos — and it still has to look balanced on a phone. The Starting Grid generator exists so you do not rebuild that layout every Saturday.

What “automatic layout” means here

When you open /grid, you already have 22 driver slots. You are not placing rectangles on a blank artboard. You are editing a pre-built race graphic:

• Odd and even positions sit on staggered columns (the classic “grid stagger”)
• Each row carries a team colour accent, number, name, and headshot
• Race title and location sit in the header shared by both pages

Reorder by dragging. Change a name or team and the colour accent updates with the driver.

Why two pages instead of one tall image

Instagram carousels reward consistent frame sizes. A single 22-driver poster either becomes unreadably small or gets crushed by the crop. The tool therefore splits the field:

Page	Positions	Export
1	P1–P11	1440 × 1880 PNG
2	P12–P22	1440 × 1880 PNG

Both pages share the same canvas size, header treatment, and visual language, so the swipe feels like one graphic, not two unrelated images.

Observations from building real grids

After laying out several 2026 grids (Bahrain through mid-season):

• Headshot consistency matters more than absolute resolution. Mixed crops (some faces huge, some tiny) look worse than slightly softer but evenly framed photos.
• Team colour bars do a lot of work. Even without reading the logo, you can scan Ferrari / McLaren / Mercedes rows quickly.
• Dragging is faster than typing positions. I usually sort roughly by hand, then fix the two or three names that swapped in the chaos of a wet quali.

What you still edit manually

Automation stops at layout. You still set:

• Race name and location in the header
• Any mid-weekend driver changes (reserve, illness, penalty drops)
• Custom photos if you prefer a different angle than the defaults

Then export both pages in one action. For the Instagram posting flow specifically, see Creating an Instagram F1 starting-grid carousel.