Grand Prix Flags

Introduction
Starting the Race
During the Race flags
Ending the Race

	Introduction
	Being a Flag Marshal for many years now, and a fanatical motor racing fan, I should certainly know my flags. There are marginal differences in the way the various motorsports use the flags and what they mean, but most have one clear meaning. The flags are their primarily for the protection of the drivers, and secondly for the safety of any marshals who may be assisting a driver. They must be obeyed and failure to comply with a flag will result in a penalty and/or a fine, and in extreme cases the driver can be omitted from the race and/or results.
	The flags are displayed at various "flag points" around the track. The circuits are divided into "sectors" with each sector containing a certain number of marshalls and a supervising "sector marshal". The chief marshal handles the start/finishing line. ñ
	Starting the Race
	For many years the country's national flag was used to start the race. However for many reasons, including safety and fairness, this was changed to a system of lights. To read all about the lights starting procedure click here. ñ
	During the Race
	The blue flag indicates "a competitor is about to overtake you", but if the flag is waved, it orders him to let the other car overtake, on pain of a time penalty for obstruction. This order is only given to a car which is one or more laps behind the overtaker. The blue flag is also used at the end of pit lane to inform the driver exiting the pits that they are approaching cars on the circuit.
	The yellow flag indicates danger, and overtaking under yellow flag is always prohibited. Also the yellow flag may have two meanings, depending if it is stationary ("drive well within your limits") or waved ("slow down"). When the Safety Car is on the track all marshals will have the yellow flags waving and the start/finish straight marshall will show a "SC" sign.
	The green flag indicates the end of the danger and of the ban on overtaking indicated by an earlier yellow flag.
	The flag with vertical red and yellow stripes warns the competitors that the track is slippery (usually oil or water) or that there is debris on the track.
	A black flag with an orange disc (known as the "meatball flag") accompanied by the number of a car warns the driver that his car has a mechanical problem and that he must go to his pit.
	A white flag is used to indicates that a slower vehicle is on the track. This may be a medical or safety vehicle. This is accompanied by a waved yellow flag in the area of the slower vehicle and normal yellow flags rules apply.
	A flag with a white triangle and a black triangle accompanied by the number of a car is a warning for unsporting behaviour.
	The black flag, accompanied by the number of a car, summons the driver of such car to return to his pit. This procedure is mostly used to notify a competitor of his exclusion from the race. The driver has 3 laps to acknowledge the black flag and if he does not come in within that time he may be heavily penalised and/or fined. This is also used to bring in a car for a stop/go penalty.
	At the start of the last lap (after the "penultimate lap") all drivers are shown the white flag. This indicates their is one more competition lap to run.
	The red flag is displayed by all track marshalls when a race is to be stopped. This can be due to the track being blocked following an accident, conditions of the track deemed unsafe, or if some other emergency issue is evident, such as a driver fatally wounded. In Formula One, if 75% of the race has been completed the race can be ended, otherwise a restart may take place. ñ
	Ending the Race
	The chequered flag always signals the finish of the race, even if the Clerk of the Course waves his flag too early, the race still ends when he gives this signal. However, if he waves it too late the classification is that obtained at the end of the scheduled number of laps. Only cars which have covered 90% of the distance will be classified. A driver does not necessarily have to still be on the track to be classified, but if a car takes more than twice as long as the fastest lap time achieved by the winner to complete his last lap, this lap will not be taken into account. ñ

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* Some information here was obtained from the FIA site. It has been duplicated here for clarity.
FIA does not support or sponsor this site nor do I attempt to pervay this information as my own.

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