Red flags and suspended races
A red flag stops the race. It's used when it isn't safe to carry on even behind the safety car: a big crash, a damaged barrier, heavy rain or a track blocked by debris. All the cars come back to the pit lane, wait until the problem is fixed, and then the race resumes.
What happens when the flag comes out
The race director sends "RED FLAG - RACE SUSPENDED" to every team. Red flags are shown at every marshal post and at the control line, and the orange lights on the start gantry come on.
From that moment:
- Overtaking is banned.
- Every driver slows down and drives back to the pit lane. Like under the safety car, there's a minimum lap time they must respect so they don't rush back. Ignoring a red flag is treated very seriously, with a 10-second stop-and-go as the usual penalty.
- The pit exit closes.
Cars line up in the fast lane of the pit lane, in the order they arrived. The first car in goes straight to the end of the pit lane. Occasionally, if the pit entry is blocked, the race director sends the cars to the grid instead.
The race clock doesn't stop. The length of the stoppage is added to the race's 2-hour limit, but the whole race can't last more than 3 hours from the start. See race distance and time limits.
What teams can do during the stoppage
This is where red flags get interesting. While the cars are parked in the pit lane, teams can work on them, within limits. The permitted jobs include:
- Changing wheels and tyres.
- Repairing genuine accident damage, including replacing a damaged front wing or other parts.
- Adjusting the front wing angle (the part not controlled by the active aero system).
- Changing brake ducts and radiator ducts, often to adjust for a change in temperature.
- Fitting cooling or heating equipment, and anything needed for the driver's comfort.
The free tyre change is a big deal. A driver who hasn't stopped yet gets new tyres without losing any time, which can turn a race upside down. It works the other way too. At the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, George Russell was leading when he pitted under the safety car early on, only for the race to be red-flagged moments later. Everyone else got their tyre change for free, and he dropped down the order.
A driver who has used intermediate or wet tyres doesn't need to meet the two-compound rule, but anyone running dry tyres all race still has to use two different specifications. A red flag change counts towards that. See tyre rules.
If a car is moved out of the fast lane to the garage, it can still rejoin, but it has to go to the back of the line.
How the race resumes
The race director gives at least 10 minutes' warning of the restart time, followed by the same countdown signals as the original start: 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 1 minute and 15 seconds. All wheels must be fitted at the 5-minute signal. If the race director decides wet tyres are needed, that's announced at the 10-minute signal.
Restart order
The cars restart in the order they were in at the last point where race control could be sure of every car's position, usually just before the red flag came out. This isn't necessarily the order they arrived in the pit lane.
Before the restart, any lapped cars, plus any cars sitting between the safety car and the leader, are let out first to do an extra lap and join the back of the line. That way, everyone restarts on the lead lap or in the right place.
Back to racing
At the restart time the pit exit opens and the cars follow the safety car out for at least one lap. The race director then chooses one of two ways to get going:
- A standing restart: the safety car pulls in, the cars line up on the grid in the restart order, and the normal light sequence takes place, just like the race start. This is what happens most of the time.
- A rolling restart: the safety car pulls in and racing begins when the leader crosses the control line, as after a normal safety car period.
Standing restarts have become the norm in recent years. Races used to resume with a rolling restart behind the safety car. The standing restart usually makes for a dramatic few corners, because it gives the cars behind a real chance at the start.
A famous example is the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Max Verstappen crashed from the lead with three laps to go after a tyre failure, the race was red-flagged, and the result came down to a two-lap dash from a standing start. Sergio Pérez led away, but second-placed Lewis Hamilton locked up and went straight on at turn 1 after accidentally leaving a brake setting switched on, dropping to the back.
If the race can't resume
Sometimes a race is stopped and never restarts, usually because of rain or a serious accident. In that case the result is taken from the end of the lap two laps before the one on which the red flag was shown. The rules say it's the "penultimate lap before the lap during which the signal to suspend" was given. Going back like this stops anyone benefiting from the chaos of the lap on which the race was stopped.
The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix is the classic case. The race was stopped after a pair of big crashes in heavy rain, and Kimi Räikkönen was first declared the winner. Days later, the timing data showed Giancarlo Fisichella had already started another lap when the red flag came out. That moved the countback one lap later, and the win went to Fisichella.
How many points are handed out for a race that's cut short depends on how far it got. See points for shortened races.
Red flags in qualifying and practice
Red flags also stop practice and qualifying, usually after a crash. The session clock is paused, the cars return to the pit lane, and the session restarts later with whatever time was left. A red flag late in qualifying can stop drivers improving their times, which is why the stewards look hard at any driver who stops on track or crashes near the end of a session. See how qualifying works.