What Is A Black Flag In Motorsport And How Often Is It Used?

A race marshall needs to carry around a range of high-quality flags available at a specialist store in order to be prepared for a range of racing eventualities.

Some of the flags are extremely common and are used in every race or almost every race. The chequered flag, for example, is used in every single session to show that a race session has ended, whether that is the race itself, qualifying or free practice.

Other flags, such as yellow flags and green flags, are used quite often depending on the chaotic nature of the race itself, whilst others are remarkably rare.

One of the least commonly used flags, at least at the top level of motorsport is the black flag, typically used to signal to a driver or car that they have been disqualified.

It was last used in Formula One in 2024 when Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg received a push start by the race stewards, which resulted in an immediate disqualification and the black flag being waived.

However, despite there being a lot of disqualifications in F1, the physical black flag is somewhat rare. Here are some of the reasons why and some notable exceptions in racing history.

Why Is It Rarely Seen?

Black flags are typically used to exclude an active racer from a session, which usually requires an infraction or series of infractions to take place whilst on track.

By contrast, most disqualifications are the result of technical infractions or conduct breaches following an investigation, which usually are enforced following a race.

Race marshalls and stewards are reluctant to exclude a driver completely, instead opting for time penalties, fines, suspensions and points deductions depending on the severity of the infraction.

This means that when the black flag is unfurled, typically alongside a particular car number, something particularly notable has happened.

When Was The Last Time It Was Seen?

During the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault and Felipe Massa’s Ferrari were both shown the black flag due to violations of rules that were later scrapped.

At the time, the rules stated that during a Safety Car situation, cars could enter the pit lane to change tyres and refuel, but could not rejoin the track until the green light at the exit turned on.

This was meant to stop every car pitting when a yellow flag came out, but it ultimately did not work and led to a confusing situation where two cars were disqualified. It was inverted in 2008 by closing the pit lane entirely during safety car situations and eventually removed entirely.

What Are The Most Notable Black Flags?

There have been a lot of black flags, including Al Pease receiving one for driving too slowly and Nigel Mansell being disqualified for reversing in the pit lane, but the most infamous and impactful happened at the 1994 British Grand Prix.

Then-championship leader Michael Schumacher’s Benetton overtook Damon Hill’s Williams on pole position during the formation lap and was given a five-second stop-go penalty via a black and white flag.

He claimed he did not see the warning, failed to stop and was given a black flag. Following a dispute between the Benetton team and the race stewards, the black flag was withdrawn, he took his penalty and finished in second.

However, the overturning was itself overturned and Mr Schumacher was disqualified and banned for two races for his conduct.