Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

defined by the

Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...

(FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and vehicles must conform. The Formula One World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as , usually held on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual championships, one for drivers and one for constructors. 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 Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

at various points around the circuit. A

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

(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. Following a red flag being shown, the exit of the

pit lane In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...

is closed and cars must proceed to the pit lane slowly without overtaking, lining up at the pit exit. 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. Previously, the race was restarted in race order from the penultimate lap before the red flag was shown. 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". If 75% of the race distance has not been completed and the race cannot be resumed, half points are awarded. Until , no points were supposed to be awarded if the race could not be restarted and less than two laps had been completed, but starting in this rule was updated to "no points if two laps or less have been completed". Since the first World Championship Grand Prix in 1950, red flags have been shown in 82 races, with the latest one being at the . A total of 26 races were restarted on the first lap, while 13 were not restarted, 9 because of rain and 4 due to crashes involving drivers. Another 5 races were stopped due to incidents that resulted in fatalities: the was stopped on lap 29 and not restarted after

Rolf Stommelen Rolf Johann Stommelen (11 July 1943 – 24 April 1983) was a racing driver from Siegen, Germany. He participated in 63 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scored a total of 14 championship points. He also partici ...

's car crashed into a spectator area, killing five people; the was red-flagged after a massive crash that ultimately contributed to the death of

Ronnie Peterson Bengt Ronnie Peterson (; 14 February 1944 – 11 September 1978) was a Swedish racing driver. Known by the nickname 'SuperSwede', he was a two-time runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Peterson began his motor racing car ...

; the was halted on the first lap after

Riccardo Paletti Riccardo Paletti (15 June 1958 – 13 June 1982) was an Italian motor racing driver. Paletti was killed when he crashed on the start grid in his second Formula One start, only two days before his 24th birthday. Life before racing Born in Mi ...

was killed when his car collided with the back of

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981 ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

; the was red-flagged following the fatal crash of Ayrton Senna, in which his car crashed into a wall at the Tamburello curve; the was red-flagged for a second time following a serious collision between

Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for the Marussia F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and Form ...

and a recovery vehicle which would ultimately prove to be fatal.

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:

Notes

References

External links

Formula One official website

FIA official website
{{featured list Red-flagged races