Marshals
Marshals are the people in overalls you see around the edge of the circuit. They wave the flags, put out fires, help drivers out of crashed cars, clear debris from the track and move broken-down cars to safety. Nearly all of them are unpaid volunteers, trained and licensed by the motorsport authority in their own country.
A Grand Prix can't run without them. Every metre of the circuit has to be watched by a marshal post, and each post needs enough people to deal with whatever happens in front of it. Big events need hundreds of marshals each day. For its 2026 race, the Las Vegas Grand Prix recruited 600.
What marshals do
Marshals are split into different roles, though at smaller events one person may cover several.
- Flag marshals watch their stretch of track and show flags to the drivers. Each post can see the posts on either side, so they can pass warnings along.
- Track or intervention marshals go onto the circuit when it's safe to do so to help a driver, put out a fire or move a car.
- Fire marshals carry extinguishers and are trained to reach a burning car fast.
- Recovery marshals drive the cranes and trucks that lift stopped cars off the track.
- Pit lane and grid marshals manage the busy pit lane and the start grid.
- Communications marshals keep each post in radio contact with race control.
Every post is in contact with race control, which decides when flags are needed across the circuit and whether it's safe for marshals to go onto the track.
A marshal post
Marshal posts sit behind the barriers at regular intervals around the lap, each one in sight of the next. Each post has a set of flags, fire extinguishers, brooms and absorbent for oil spills, and a radio. F1 circuits also have electronic light panels near each post that repeat the flag signals.
Marshals wear overalls in a colour that won't be confused with a flag. Under the FIA rules they mustn't wear anything that looks like a yellow or red flag, which is why so many wear orange.
Clearing a crash
When a car stops on track, marshals have to remove it as quickly as possible. The usual approach is:
- Yellow flags go out at the post before the car (double yellows if it's blocking the track).
- If the driver can get out, marshals guide them to a safe place behind the barriers and the debris fence.
- Marshals push the car to a gap in the barriers, or a crane lifts it over.
- Debris is swept off and oil is covered with absorbent.
If it's not safe for marshals to work while cars go past at racing speed, race control will use the virtual safety car, the safety car or a red flag.
Before marshals can touch an F1 car, they check the ERS status light on the car. The 2026 cars run on a large share of electrical power, and a damaged battery or electrical system can be dangerous. If the light shows the car is not safe, marshals wait for the team or wear insulated gloves.
The risks
Marshals are much closer to the action than spectators, and some have been killed doing the job. Paolo Gislimberti died at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix when he was hit by a wheel from a crash. Graham Beveridge died the following year in Australia in a similar way. At the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix, Mark Robinson was hit by a recovery crane while moving a car after the race.
These deaths led to changes such as wheel tethers on the cars, better debris fencing and stricter rules on recovery vehicles. The crash that injured Jules Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, when his car slid into a recovery vehicle, led directly to the introduction of the virtual safety car.
How to become a marshal
Most countries with a Grand Prix have a marshals' club or a training programme run by the national motorsport authority. You usually start at club races, complete training courses and work your way up to bigger events. Many F1 marshals have been doing it for decades. If you're interested, search for the marshals' club in your country or check the website of the circuit nearest to you.