Black flags and warnings

There are three flags with black in them, and they all have one thing in common: they are aimed at one driver. Each is shown at the start/finish line together with a black board carrying that driver's car number in white, and the team is told at the same time.

#The black and white flag

This is F1's version of a yellow card. Under the FIA rules it is shown once, and it warns the driver about unsporting behaviour or about something that will be punished if they do it again.

Today you mostly see it for track limits. Under the FIA's driving standards guidelines, a driver normally gets three "strikes" for leaving the track. At the third, the black and white flag is shown as a final warning. The next offence usually brings a 5-second time penalty. The stewards can skip straight to a penalty if they think a driver gained a big advantage, so the count isn't guaranteed. See track limits for the details.

It can also be shown for other things that fall short of a penalty, such as moving around too much while defending.

#The black flag with an orange disc

Fans often call this the "meatball" flag. It tells the driver that their car has a mechanical problem that could put them or other drivers in danger, and they must come into the pits on the next lap. Common reasons are a front wing hanging off, a loose bodywork panel, or a fluid leak.

Once the team has fixed the problem to the satisfaction of the FIA's chief scrutineer, the car can go back out and carry on racing. It's not a penalty, though it costs the driver a lot of time.

The F1 rules go further than the flag. If a car has obvious structural damage or a failure that makes it a danger, the driver must leave the track as soon as it's safe, and race control can order the team to retire or pit the car. Kevin Magnussen was shown the black and orange flag at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix with a damaged front wing endplate and had to stop for a new nose while running in the points.

#The black flag

The black flag on its own is the most serious signal a driver can get. It means they are disqualified from the race and must come into the pits on the next lap and stop. Only the stewards can order it.

It is very rare in modern F1, because most serious offences are dealt with after the race instead. The most famous case is the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, when Nigel Mansell was black-flagged for reversing in the pit lane, missed or ignored the flag for three laps, and then crashed into Ayrton Senna. He was banned from the following race.

Under the FIA rules the black flag should not be shown for more than four laps in a row. A driver who ignores it faces further punishment on top of the disqualification. See disqualification for the other ways a driver can lose a result, such as failing technical checks after the race.