Why Do the Light Panels Along Pit Wall Flash Green or Yellow Ahead of an F1 Race?

‘And it’s lights out and away we go.’ There isn’t an F1 fan who hasn’t heard these words. Week-in, week-out, David Croft aka Crofty uses this sentence at the top of his voice to let the audience know that the race has just begun.

There are five lights that light up one after another before they go off together to let the race start. The lights that go off are usually red. However, have you ever wondered what’s the use of green and yellow lights that flash on the wall?

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The Greenlights indicate the perfect positioning before the race. It indicates to the starter (the race director) that all the drivers are placed at their desired place to start the race. They also show the driver’s car number for the position. For example, Max Verstappen qualified in P3. The display panel at P3 will have number 1.

As for the Yellow lights, they not only show if a driver is out of position but also show if there is an issue with the car. To take an example, if a driver has killed the engine, there will be yellow lights to notify the race director to have the formation lap once again and reset the starting grid.

What’s the use of back-lights in F1?

We often see F1 cars have red lights flashing at their back. One in the middle and two placed side by side on the rear wing. What’s their use? The lights used in the back of the car are not the braking lights. They were introduced as a safety feature.

Most of the F1 drivers know where to brake and when to brake. So it’s not actually necessary to have a brake light introduced in the car. However, these lights can actually be used as a rear light in given weather conditions. Specifically, during heavy rain and low visibility, the lights are kept on to showcase their presence to other cars to avoid a collision. What are the other uses?

The rear light gets activated when the MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit – Heat) component of the Power Unit harvests heat energy from the exhaust system. When this happens, the car might get slower in the process. So the light lights up to indicate the fall of speed to the cars behind.

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However, at times, it is seen that the rear lights flash green at times. This is because the driver who’s driving the car lacks the FIA Super Licence but has an ordinary driving license. All in all, it means that the driver is a novice or newcomer to the sport.