List of red-flagged Formula One races

A man in a white overall, standing behind a blue sponsorship advertisement for the Royal Bank of Scotland, with the letters "RBS" in white. He is waving a red flag.
A red flag is shown to indicate an unscheduled stop to a race, usually for safety reasons.

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.[1] The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and vehicles must conform.[2] The Formula One World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, usually held on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.[3] The results of each race are combined to determine two annual championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.[4]

A red flag is shown when there has been a crash or the track conditions are poor enough to warrant the race being stopped. The flags are displayed by the marshals at various points around the circuit.[5] A Global Positioning System (GPS) marshalling system was introduced in 2007. It involves a display of flag signals in the driver's cockpit, which alerts them to the crash.[6] Following a red flag being shown, the exit of the pit lane is closed and cars must proceed to the pit lane slowly without overtaking, lining up at the pit exit.[7] From 2005, a ten-minute warning is given before the race is resumed behind the safety car, which leads the field for a lap before it returns to the pit lane.[8] Previously, the race was restarted in race order from the penultimate lap before the red flag was shown.[9] If a race is unable to be resumed, "the results will be taken at the end of the penultimate lap before the lap during which the signal to suspend the race was given".[7] If 75% of the race distance has not been completed and the race cannot be resumed, half points are awarded. Until 2015, no points were supposed to be awarded if the race could not be restarted and less than two laps had been completed,[10][11] but starting in 2016 this rule was updated to "no points if two laps or less have been completed".[12][13][14][15][16]

Since the first World Championship Grand Prix in 1950, red flags have been shown in 87 World Championship Formula One races, with the latest one being at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. A total of 26 races were restarted on the first lap, while 13 Grands Prix were not restarted, nine because of rain and four due to crashes involving drivers. Another five races were stopped due to incidents that resulted in fatalities: the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix was stopped on lap 29 and not restarted after Rolf Stommelen's car crashed into a spectator area, killing five people;[17] the 1978 Italian Grand Prix was red-flagged after a massive crash that ultimately contributed to the death of Ronnie Peterson; the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix was halted on the first lap after Riccardo Paletti was killed when his car collided with the back of Didier Pironi's Ferrari;[18] the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was red-flagged following the fatal crash of Ayrton Senna, in which his car crashed into a wall at the Tamburello curve;[19] the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix was red-flagged for a second time following a serious collision between Jules Bianchi and a recovery vehicle which would ultimately prove to be fatal.[20] The 2023 Australian Grand Prix holds the record for most red flags, with three.[21]

  1. ^ "About FIA". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). 24 February 2015. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. ^ Williamson, Martin. "A brief history of Formula One". ESPN. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  3. ^ Hughes, Mark; Tremayne, David (2002). The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula 1. Parragon. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0-75258-766-8.
  4. ^ "2020 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). 7 April 2020. pp. 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Flags". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. ^ "2007 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b "The safety car and suspending a race". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  8. ^ "2005 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). pp. 25–26. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. ^ "2004 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). p. 27. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  10. ^ "Points". Formula 1. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  11. ^ 2015 Formula One Sporting Regulations. Section 6.5.
  12. ^ 2016 Formula One Sporting Regulations. Section 6.5.
  13. ^ 2017 Formula One Sporting Regulations. Section 6.5.
  14. ^ 2018 Formula One Sporting Regulations. Section 6.5.
  15. ^ "2020 Formula One Sporting Regulations (Issue 8)" (PDF). FIA. 27 May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  16. ^ "2021 Formula One Sporting Regulations (Issue 5)" (PDF). FIA. 16 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  17. ^ Edmondson, Laurence (17 May 2011). "Protest in the park". ESPN. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  18. ^ Visbeen, Marcel (14 August 2007). "Racing towards a fate he never even saw coming". Autosport. Forix. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  19. ^ "1994: Race ace Senna killed in car crash". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  20. ^ DiZinno, Tony (18 July 2015). "Jules Bianchi dies at age 25, his family confirms". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  21. ^ "Facts and stats: Three champs on top in first-ever race to feature three red flags". Formula1.com. 2 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.