Cars line up first
Before the formation lap, cars take their grid positions in starting order. The pre-start signals tell teams when personnel, equipment, tyre blankets, and other grid items must be cleared.
Formula 1 - Race start
The formation lap sets the field before the race actually starts.
In Formula 1, the race start is not just the moment the red lights go out. Cars must first leave the grid for a formation lap, return to their starting boxes, and be ready for a controlled standing start unless race control uses a different procedure for safety reasons.
Standard start
How the formation lap and start work
The normal F1 race start is a standing start from the grid after one formation lap.
The field leaves behind pole
When the green lights show, the pole sitter leads the formation lap. Drivers warm tyres and brakes, check the car, and keep the formation as tight as possible.
Five red lights decide the start
When the cars return to the grid, they stop in their boxes with engines running. The permanent starter illuminates five red lights in sequence, then the race starts when all red lights go out.
What drivers can and cannot do
- They must follow the original order: overtaking is not allowed just because a driver gets a better launch from the grid at the start of the formation lap.
- Passing is only allowed for a genuine delay: if a car is slow or stuck and cars behind cannot avoid passing without delaying everyone, drivers may pass only to restore the original order.
- A delayed car has a deadline: if a driver cannot regain the correct place before the first safety car line, they must enter the pit lane and start from there.
- Practice starts are forbidden: the formation lap is for preparing the car and field, not for rehearsing a launch.
- Leaving the grid is speed-controlled: drivers must respect the pit-lane speed limit until they pass pole position.
How pit-lane starts fit in
- They may join the formation lap: after the grid cars pass the pit exit, pit-lane starters can be released to join the formation lap.
- They do not take a grid slot: at the end of the formation lap, they return to the pit lane instead of lining up on the grid.
- They start after the field: the pit exit opens after the race has started and the cars on track have passed the pit exit.
- Their order is controlled: multiple pit-lane starters line up under the relevant starting-order rules, with late-arriving cars placed behind those already at pit exit.
Start problems
Extra formation lap, delayed start, or aborted start?
These phrases sound similar, but they happen at different points in the start procedure.
Before the formation lap
If race control delays the start before the formation lap begins, the start procedure resets. Teams are informed and the sequence begins again from the ten-minute signal.
Problem, but no full abort
If a problem appears after the formation lap has begun but a full abort is not needed, race control can order an extra formation lap. Each completed extra formation lap shortens the race or sprint by one lap.
Start made unsafe
If the start would be unsafe, race control can abort it after the cars return. The grid holds position, teams may be allowed back, and the procedure restarts when a new start time is set.
What changes in bad conditions
If track conditions are unsuitable for a normal start, the formation lap or laps may begin behind the safety car. This is most familiar in heavy rain or poor visibility, but the decision belongs to race control under the sporting regulations.
- Cars follow the safety car in order: the field must keep within the permitted gap, with a larger maximum gap possible in poor visibility.
- Wet tyres can be mandatory: if race control declares formation laps behind the safety car with wet-weather tyres required, cars must use the specified wet tyres.
- The start can still become standing: if conditions improve enough, race control can call a standing start and the cars return to the grid.
- The start can become rolling: if a standing start is still unsuitable, race control can call a rolling start. In that case, the race begins when the leader crosses the line after the safety car returns.
- Safety-car formation laps affect race distance: under the current procedure, the race or sprint is shortened by the number of safety-car formation laps minus one.
How officials judge the launch
A driver can be penalized for moving too early, being incorrectly positioned in the grid box, or not being detected properly by the start system. The current FIA procedure requires cars to be stationary in their allocated grid positions after the third red light is shown and before the start signal.
- Movement matters: the car must not move before the lights go out in a way that breaches the false-start rule.
- Grid position matters: the car must be placed so the detection system can register the start correctly.
- Front tyre contact patches matter: the front tyres must not be outside the front or side lines of the grid box at the start signal.
- Stewards choose the penalty: sanctions can range from a five-second penalty to stronger in-race penalties depending on the breach.
What fans often mix up
- The formation lap is not the green-flag race start: in a normal standing start, the race starts when the red lights go out, not when cars leave for the formation lap.
- An extra formation lap is not free: each completed extra formation lap reduces the scheduled distance by one lap.
- A stalled car does not automatically cancel the race start: race control may use yellow signals, push the car to the pit lane, order an extra formation lap, or abort the start depending on safety.
- Pit-lane starters do not gain a normal grid start by joining the formation lap: they must return to the pit lane and start after the field.
- A safety-car start is not always a rolling start: after safety-car formation laps, race control can choose a standing start if conditions are suitable.
Rules that connect to the start
- Qualifying and sprint rules - how the grid is decided before start procedure begins.
- Parc ferme and car setup rules - why some pre-race car changes lead to a pit-lane start.
- Pit lane and pit stop rules - how pit-lane procedure affects cars starting from the pit lane.
- Safety car, VSC, and red flag rules - how neutralized starts and restarts differ from normal starts.
- F1 penalties and penalty points - how stewards choose sporting penalties for start infringements.