
It is displayed motionless and should be “accompanied by a black board with a white number which should be shown to the driver whose car’s number is displayed. The International Sporting Code defines the black and white flag as “a warning to the driver concerned that he has been reported for unsportsmanlike behaviour”, noting it should “be shown only once”. But we see it effectively as motorsport’s version of a yellow car, to put it in football terms.” “Squeezing drivers, moving under brakes, all those types of things. Formula 1 Spanish GP When Is a Black and White Flag Shown to an F1 Driver When Is a Black and White Flag Shown to an F1 Driver By Yash Mani Modified 00:51 IST. The flag could be used for “a range of ”, said Masi. The stewards warned him for weaving on the straight to disrupt the slipstream of a driver behind. The last F1 driver to be shown the flag before Gasly was Lewis Hamilton during the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Masi said the discussions around reviving its use began before the Canadian Grand Prix, where Sebastian Vettel as controversially penalised for rejoining the track in an unsafe fashion. It’s effectively the motorsport version of a yellow card.” Every single sporting director and every single driver is supportive of the use of it. It’s one of the flags that exist in the code. “One of the reasons I haven’t used it to date was trying to find out off as many of them why it stopped being used, and no one can come up with a valid reason.

“But one of the discussions that’s been ongoing with the sporting directors is using it. As they may have a hard time seeing the flags at such high speeds, or are at the time focused on their track position, the drivers all benefit from a special display on their cockpit, which will light up with the relevant color when the marshals are waving a certain flag.“The black-and-white flag, ‘bad sportsmanship’ flag, is something that hasn’t been used, prior to this, 2010,” he explained. This week, we'll take you to Formula One, where the drivers are handed with an extra help to spot the marshals' flags. A driver cannot possibly know if the car behind him is driven by someone who's looking to lap him or his rival for a better position in a race.Īt the same time, if a driver does something wrong – from the sporting points of view – during the race, he is now able to find out about it immediately and undergo a real-time penalty, rather than wait for it until the chequered flag.Īs different racing series have different flags, or the same color can mean something different depending on the championship, we will today start a series of articles, aimed at providing you with the necessary knowhow to interpret it. Nowadays, flags in motor sports are not only used by race marshals to signal the start or end of a race, but also to warn drivers about potential danger ahead or even to hand drastic penalties.
