When you first get involved with Formula 1 or any motorsport, you quickly see colorful lights flashing at the side of the track or flags being waved.
There are ten different flags in Formula 1, each with a different meaning. Let’s take a look at exactly what they actually mean.
Let’s start with the most important flag for us motorsport fans: the green flag! This signals the official start of the race. You may have seen on TV that a few seconds before the start, just as the lights go out, a person in the background runs across the track in front of the safety car, waving the green flag. As soon as he is on the other side, the lights go out and the drivers are allowed to drive off.
The blue flag signals to a driver that he is slower than the cars behind him. The driver must make way at the next possible place that is wide enough to allow the faster cars to pass.
It is more or less the equivalent of the blue flag – but for the faster car. The white flag indicates to a driver that there is a slower vehicle in front of him and that he should drive with appropriate caution.
Attention Danger: The yellow flag signals that there is a dangerous situation on the section of road. This may be the case, for example, if a car leaves the track but does not put the other cars in immediate danger because it stops next to the track.
If the yellow flag is waved, the driver must visibly take his foot off the accelerator and may no longer overtake.
Sometimes two yellow flags are waved. This is called double yellow. When two yellow flags are waved, it means that there is a particularly high level of danger on the road, e.g. because there are people on or near the road or there are large pieces of debris in the middle of the road. Under double yellow, drivers must be ready to brake at all times, drive particularly carefully and slowly and, of course, not overtake. In many racing series, they are then only allowed to drive at 60-80 km/h – which is why you sometimes hear the term “Code 60” in this context.
As a signal color, red almost always means something bad – as it does in Formula 1. When the red flag is waved, the race is stopped. The cars have to return to the starting grid or pit lane and wait.
If a driver is shown the black flag, this means that he has been disqualified. So nobody really likes to see this color. The black flag is always waved in combination with the starting number of the driver concerned. The disqualified driver must bring his car into the pits and park it within one lap.
If a driver sees the black flag with an orange dot (in Germany we call it the “fried egg flag”), he must come into the pits immediately for a pit stop. The black flag with an orange dot signals to the driver that there is a defect in the car that needs to be repaired urgently because it poses an immediate danger. For example, this could be loose parts flapping around on the car after a collision. This flag is also always waved in combination with the corresponding start number.
There are rules that a driver must adhere to, such as complying with track limits. If a driver violates these rules several times, he is shown the black and white flag. This is the final warning; if the driver continues to break the rules, he will be disqualified.
The red and yellow striped flag signals that the road is dirty; it has even been waved as a lizard walked across the road. However, it is usually waved when there is dirt, leaking oil or light rain – in other words, even when there is a risk of slipping.
The flag is waved at the start and finish line when the last lap of the race has begun for the drivers. It signals to all riders crossing the line that the race is over and that they have reached the finish line.
For certain flags, such as the white, blue, yellow and red flags, it is not only the marshals at the side of the track who wave the corresponding flags. There are also monitors at each circuit that also flash or light up in the corresponding color.
If individual drivers are targeted, such as with the “fried egg flag”, the driver’s number is also held up. A corresponding warning also appears on the steering wheel and the drivers receive a message over the pit radio. It is almost impossible to miss a flag.
