Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
List of red-flagged Formula One races
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
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]
Since the first World Championship Grand Prix in 1950, red flags have been shown in 88 World Championship Formula One races, with the latest one being at the 2024 São Paulo 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;[13] 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;[14] 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;[15] 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.[16] The 2023 Australian Grand Prix holds the record for most red flags, with three.[17]
Remove ads
Red-flagged races
- The "Lap" column identifies the lap on which the race was stopped.
- The "R" column indicates whether or not the race was restarted:
Remove ads
Notes
- At the time, half points are awarded when a race cannot be restarted and less than 75 per cent of the race distance has been completed.[10]
- When Jos Verstappen stalled his car on the grid, Race Director Charlie Whiting attempted to abort the start, a procedure that is carried out when a car is stalled before the lights go out. However, the lights went out before he had the chance to do so, and as a result the lights afterwards displayed the standard 5 red lights and 3 amber lights. The race was immediately stopped, but the red flag was not displayed until the cars came to the start/finish line. As is the case when a start is aborted, the race was shortened by one lap as the cars were not refuelled, but Verstappen was allowed to regain his original grid position in 15th.[71]
- From the 2000 season, races stopped after two laps but before three-quarters race distance had been completed would be restarted with the cars lining up on the grid in the order they were at the end of the penultimate lap before the lap during which the red flag was shown. Only the race order and number of laps completed were taken into account for the new race, time differences between the cars were voided. The distance of the new race was the number of laps remaining from the original races, minus three laps, with the lap counter also reset to lap one.[77][78]
- Kimi Räikkönen was originally awarded the race win, but after an error in the declared results was discovered several days later by race officials, the win was reallocated to Giancarlo Fisichella.[80]
- This was the first Grand Prix to be resumed despite 75% of the race distance having been completed, due to a 2005 regulation change that saw the terms "stopping" and "restarting" a race replaced with "suspending" and "resuming". Under the new regulations, regardless of distance completed, all races would be resumed behind the safety car with the cars in the order they were at the time of the red flag, once it was safe to do so. Only in the event that it was not possible to resume the race (including the four-hour rule) would a result be declared from the penultimate lap before the lap during which the red flag was shown.[85]
Remove ads
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads