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A black flag accompanied by a car number is shown to a driver to signal their disqualification from the race. If racing, the driver must return to the pits and take no further part in the Grand Prix.
A black flag is a rare sight in Formula 1 and is only awarded by the stewards when there is a serious violation of a rule. Illegal car changes and exiting the pits while the red light is flashing are some of the most common reasons for receiving a black flag, with Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella being the latest victims of the latter during the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.
There have been just over ten black flag incidents in Formula 1. Let's delve deeper and look at the top 10 black flag incidents scattered throughout the long history of Formula 1.
#10 Jarno Trulli - Austria 2001
Driving the Jordan-Honda, Jarno Trulli had a very good qualifying session that saw him start the Austrian Grand Prix from the fifth place. Due to problems with launch control, the Italian driver along with three others stalled on the grid at the start of the race, forcing a safety car on the very first lap.
He made it to the pits to restart his session. However, due to an error in judgement, Trulli left the pit lane with the red light still flashing, which triggered a black flag from race control.
#9 Juan Pablo Montoya - USA 2004
Juan Pablo Montoya's first black flag came in 2004 at the United States Grand Prix. The Colombian's first-choice Williams-BMW failed to start, and this made Montoya start the race with his spare car from the pit lane.
Montoya recovered quickly and was soon fighting for places at the top of the grid. His disqualification came on lap 57 when the stewards decided to show him a black flag for changing his car right before the start of the race.
#8 Ayrton Senna - Brazil 1988
Ayrton Senna received a black flag at his home Grand Prix in Brazil. After a mechanical failure in his first-choice car at the start of the race, the Brazilian started the race from the pits using his spare car.
Later in the race, Senna was shown the black flag for changing his vehicle after the race was green-flagged at the end of the formation lap. The setback in the very first race of the season did not matter as the prolific Brazilian went on to win the 1988 world championship.
#7 Juan Pablo Montoya - Canada 2005
The Colombian racing driver received his second black the following year at the Canadian Grand Prix. Montoya had a productive qualifying session and started the race from the fifth position.
Driving the McLaren, the Colombian led for a decent portion of the race until the introduction of a safety car on lap 49. Montoya had to give way for his teammate Kimi Raikkonen to pit earlier forcing him to pit the next lap, which ensured that he would lose the race lead at the restart. A lapse in judgement caused Juan Pablo Montoya to exit the pitlane with the red light flashing. Immediately following the restart, the McLaren driver was under investigation and was later black-flagged by the stewards on lap 52.
#6 Elio de Angelis - Australia 1985
Like Montoya, Elio de Angelis too received two black flags in his F1 career. The Italian's first black flag came during the 1981 British Grand Prix for ignoring yellow flags during the race. His second black flag came during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix, which was the first race held at the Adelaide street circuit.
Driving his last race in the Lotus, the Italian failed to retain his grid position during the formation lap. Ideally, he should have started the race at the back of the grid, but in the heat of the moment, de Angelis overtook cars in the formation lap to regain his grid position, which caused his race to be black-flagged by the stewards on lap 18.
#5 Alain Prost - Italy 1986
The Frenchman received a black flag during the 1986 Italian Grand Prix held at Monza.
Alain Prost was excellent in qualifying and finished the session second, less than 0.5 seconds behind Teo Fabi. However, both the drivers could not manage to start the race from the front row. Fabi started from the back of the grid while Prost started the race from the pits in his spare car after his first-choice car suffered from mechanical problems.
The Frenchman started well and was in the top-10 and marched ahead to get into the points. However, Prost's race was black-flagged by the race stewards for the illegal car change before his engine blew up the following lap.
#4 Michael Schumacher - Britan 1994
The seven-time world champion saw the black flag during the 1994 British Grand Prix.
The German driver had a very productive qualifying session which enabled him to start the race from the front row alongside the polesitter Damon Hill.
Driving for Benetton-Ford, Schumacher overtook the Briton twice on the formation lap before retaking his second place at the start of the race. The German received a stop-go penalty on lap 14, which he had to serve by lap 21. Schumacher failed to serve the penalty in the stipulated time and was waved black flags twice during the race.
Michael Schumacher didn't return to the pits and went on to finish the race second only to be recorded as a disqualification on the podium.
#3 Al Pease - Canada 1969
The British-Canadian participated in only three Formula 1 races, all of them being the Canadian Grand Prix.
His black flag came in his last race during the 1969 Grand Prix for being too slow. To date, Pease is the only driver to be disqualified from a race for being too slow on the track.
The stewards showed him a black flag after a series of on-track incidents. Before being disqualified, he managed to finish 22 laps, while the leaders completed 46 laps in the same time.
Interestingly, he managed to finish his first race in 1967, 43 laps behind the winner.
#2 Nigel Mansell - Portugal 1989
Nigel Mansell had a very good qualifying session and started the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix from the third place. Driving the Ferrari, the Briton was in the thick of things and had lived through a great tussle at the top of the field. He led the race on lap 34 before entering the pits for a change of tires.
Mansell misgauged his pace and overshot his designated spot. He later reversed the car inside the pitlane to park in position. This was a clear violation of the rules, and the Briton received a black flag from the stewards later in the race.
Controversy erupted when Mansell did not comply with the stewards and continued a fierce battle with Ayrton Senna. The two collided forcing early retirements, which not only ended the Brazilian's chance for a podium but also ruined his chances to win the 1989 world championship.
#1 Hans Heyer - Germany 1977
Hans Heyer's black flag at Hockenheimring during the 1977 German Grand Prix is easily the most memorable black flag incident in F1's long history.
The German was a renowned touring car driver at that time before he tried to test his skills in Formula 1. With minimal experience in F1 cars, Heyer had an abysmal qualifying session, which ensured that he would not qualify for the race.
However, Heyer started the race, and the race marshalls did not raise an objection to it. The German put some laps around the track before a gearbox problem forced him to retire. Following that, he was disqualified and was credited DNQ, DNF and DSQ in a single race.
