Racing flags

[2] When there are circumstances where double-waved yellow flags are needed yet usage of the safety car is not warranted, then the race will be under a virtual safety car period, during which all flag points will display a "VSC board" and all light panels on track will display the letters VSC surrounded by a flashing yellow border.

Under the VSC procedure, all drivers on the track must reduce their speed and stay above a minimum time set by race officials at least once in each marshalling sector.

When deemed safe to end the VSC procedure, teams are notified via the official messaging system 10 to 15 seconds before green flags are waved.

This happened at the 2019 Rome ePrix, when Jean Eric Vergne overtook future Techeetah teammate António Félix da Costa.

Depending on the series and the circumstances, the cars are typically directed to proceed immediately to pit road, or to stop at a specific spot on the track.

During red flag conditions, repair work in the pits, the garage area, or on the track is typically prohibited, except in non-points paying races.

Many hazards, such as rain, lightning, darkness, a blocked course (due to debris, water, or safety vehicles), a car on fire, a severely demolished car (where parts are dropped on the track, like the engine), a serious accident where a driver was seriously injured or killed (only if death is officially announced) or a multi-car crash (especially one that results in serious injuries, extensive time to clean up or one that results in damage to walls, fences or the surface itself which require repairs) might prompt series officials to call for the red flag.

In all championships which use the FIA International Sporting Code, as well as North American road racing, the white flag indicates the presence of an officials car such as ambulance, fire truck, jet dryer, etc.

The sudden 42% reduction in throttle itself could have led to a drive through penalty for race leader Anton de Pasquale, but the very wet conditions and possible loss of traction and safety issues were mitigating circumstances.

[17] When the black flag is used for disciplinary reasons in most races in North America, a driver is required to return to pit lane for at minimum a drive-through penalty.

If the driver fails to serve the black flag and return to the pits within the required window, officials will cease scoring of that car.

(This can be converted to an average speed-limit based on the length of the course, which for oval tracks will be close to the actual speed limit at any given time.)

IndyCar has a 105 percent rule, most notably used when officials parked Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro during the 2012 Indianapolis 500.

At some road racing events, it is used to summon the vehicle to the pits to inform the driver of violation "maximum sound levels".

For example, Charles Leclerc was shown this flag for "bad sportsmanship" while defending from Lewis Hamilton during the 2019 Italian Grand Prix.

Fines, probation, suspensions, and other penalties (e.g., points being docked from championship standings) may result, depending upon the severity of the situation.

In Formula One, if the driver about to be lapped ignores three waved blue flags in a row, he is required to serve a drive-through penalty.

In Formula One, blue lights or flags may be shown at the end of pit lanes to warn of approaching cars on the track.

Upon seeing the chequered flag and crossing the finish line, drivers are required to slow to a safe speed, and return to their garage, parc fermé, or paddock, depending on the applicable regulations of the series.

There have been instances of the black and white squares being painted onto a wooden board and simply held up for drivers to observe at the finish line.

(The starter will wave both a chequered and yellow flag if safety car conditions occur at the end of the race, in a yellow-chequer finish.)

NASCAR traditionally has a special version of the chequered flag sewn for Victory Lane that has the name and date of the race on it, a practice that has spread to IndyCar.

Beginning in the 2017 season, NASCAR has utilized a white-and-green variant of the chequered flag to indicate the end of a stage of a race.

After the flag is waved, the race temporarily goes into caution to allow drivers who have had placed in the top 10 position following a stage to go into the pit road in a timely manner.

[26] In 1980, USAC starter Duane Sweeney started a tradition at the Indianapolis 500 by waving twin chequered flags at the end of the race.

[citation needed] Chequered flags were also posted at each corner of the end zones in the original Yankee Stadium when the facility was used by the New York Giants of the National Football League from 1956 through 1973.

Missing or disregarding a flag can have critical consequences, as Mario and Michael Andretti discovered during a 1991 CART race in Detroit, Michigan.

Michael came around a blind corner at high speed, without heeding the yellow flag being displayed—and plowed into the back of a CART safety truck tending to another disabled car.

Fifteen seconds later, his father Mario disregarded the same madly waving yellows and crashed into the car the safety vehicle was trying to assist.

Most new circuits and older ones used for F1 employ trackside flashing lights at regular intervals, as a clearer way to signal yellow, green, red, blue or SC flag status to drivers than relying on them to spot a marshal waving a flag, especially so on modern circuits where there are large run-off areas which put the marshals well away from the actual track.