Should blue flags be booted out of F1

[John S]

Is it time to take away the rule that ensures backmarkers move over after 2 blue flags and make the front runners earn their money instead by overtaking in the normal racing way, as originally suggested by Tony Fernandes and now backed by Branson in the article below from Autosport.com?

For me there will be more overtaking chances at the front end of races without the blue flag rule, especially tracks where overtaking is nigh impossible. There could be a downsides of course, the leaders may come accross multi car tailend or even midfield battles, or more contact may result with more aggressive passing, but the extra excitement should be thrilling. Can't be worse than seeing cars jump out of the way like frightened rabbits as the leaders approach, surely?    

Richard Branson has backed the call from Lotus boss Tony Fernandes to get rid of blue flags in grand prix racing. Fernandes, whose team has made its Formula 1 debut this year, said earlier this season that he believed the sport would benefit from not having blue flags.

"Drivers are paid to overtake, whether they are back markers or at the front," said Fernandes back in May. "I think it would be good for the sport to get rid of blue flags. In the days of Ken Tyrrell, he would never let any car pass.

"If it's really hard for a world champion to get past a backmarker then I think it's a sad day for racing. I think racing is all about getting past people and overtaking and adding a little bit of 'je ne sais quoi'.

"You've got a driver saying it's ridiculous that he's lapping someone four times, so why should he be complaining about overtaking a guy that he's lapping four times?"

Branson, the main backer of newcomer Virgin Racing, agreed with Fernandes, as he reckons the sport would be more entertaining without them.

"It would be a lot more fun if they didn't have blue flags," said Branson. "I am sure some of the more established teams would not like it, but it is a racing track and they should not have to be told to pull over.

"If that is what Tony is saying, I definitely agree with him. It doesn't sound like racing - and it makes a bit of a mockery of the sport."

Virgin Racing's CEO Graeme Lowdon reckons blue flags hurt smaller teams too much, as they lose big amounts of time letting the leading drivers through.

"We get a blue flag three seconds before someone approaches us, and at the moment three seconds is almost a lap and you have to let them by within four corners," he said. "So we have situations where our guys are pulling to one side and the car behind cannot catch up.

"It's a massive compromise over the whole of a race. We do this graph of time against distance, and you look at the graph and you immediately see where the blue flags start because up to a point of the race we are there or thereabouts in terms of pace, but then it drops away.

"The issue is that you get the flags so early - and three seconds is quite a long time. And you have to tell your driver to let the guy past but you cannot speed the car up behind. It has ruined a lot of racing for us."

By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde, Autosport.com, Today.

[Ian]

I've always been in favour of getting rid of the blue flag and totally agree with Fernandes and Branson. Why penalise a driver fighting for a point by making him pull over for a championship driver, if they've got a car that can lap a 10th place driver make them earn it. Apart from that it's gaining points that let a driver move up in the ratings and therefore get a better drive.

[littledave]

Why should the car in front be penalised because of slower cars? All there hard work gone just because they can't keep up. Yes they may lap a slow car 4 times during a race but it has taken all that time to pull 1-10 gap over the person behind them. Singapore was a classic example how backmarkers ruin races with Webber and Hmilton. Both nearly out because of a backmarker. It's would have been much better if Hamilton had stayed in, with him and webber batteling it out for a few more laps.

Notice how it’s the slow teams that say it would make it more exciting. How? What's exciting about a car that’s far superior overtake an inferior car?

I think it's too dangerous. A back marker has nothing to lose or gain by keeping a leader behind them, which could leave them fighting a bit too hard to keep them behind them resulting in accidents like Mark Webbers into the back of the Lotus (I know that was for position but it’s still a “what if”).

[cosworth151]

"If it's really hard for a world champion to get past a backmarker then I think it's a sad day for racing. I think racing is all about getting past people and overtaking and adding a little bit of 'je ne sais quoi'.

That only works on tracks that allow overtaking. The trouble is that most of today's Tilke-designed tracks don't. That does make this a truly sad day for racing.

[Jericoke]

I suggest the biggest danger of eliminating the blue flags will be tactics.  Maybe the STR doesn't want to get out of the way of a Ferrari while an RBR recovers from a poor pitstop?  Or maybe Lotus will hold up a McLaren so that Renault lets them skip an engine payment?  Or with Massa once again out of the championship fight, he'll take the grid penalty to get a new engine and block Alonso's rival?

There's room for a lot of shenanigans if you let the back markers decide who gets by and who doesn't.

In other threads I've suggested a complete revamp of F1 scoring:  1 point per pass.  The top qualifier starts last = most opportunities to pass.  Pit stops will incur no penalty at all - let everyone come in for fresh rubber, and then go back out at full strength.

Voila, the blue flag is gone, and there is spectacle to be had from the top to the bottom of the grid.

[lkjohnson1950]

In many series the blue flag is an advisory flag: hey there's a faster car coming behind you, be aware. What action the driver takes is up to him unless he is deliberately blocking. In Nascar drivers fight hard to stay on the lead lap, since the inevitable yellow flag will give them the whole lap back.

[Canada Darrell™]

In Nascar drivers fight hard to stay on the lead lap, since the inevitable yellow flag will give them the whole lap back.

Provided of course you are the FIRST car a lap behind.

I agree though with the OP. Simply stated if you're so darn fast that you've managed to get an entire lap ahead of the dude in front of you....SHUT UP AND PASS HIM ALREADY! 

[Williamsfan]

I'd like to see them gone in one sense but on the other hand I do not want to see a race result affected by a back marker having a moment and thinking he is racing a Red Bull/McLaren/Ferrari/Williams( ) and cause an incident.  I want to see the racing as exciting as possible and blue flags do make some racing less interesting than it could be.

[Scott]

As Lonny mentioned, turn them into advisory flags - no penalties.

[Jericoke]

I'd like to see them gone in one sense but on the other hand I do not want to see a race result affected by a back marker having a moment and thinking he is racing a Red Bull/McLaren/Ferrari/Williams( ) and cause an incident.  I want to see the racing as exciting as possible and blue flags do make some racing less interesting than it could be.

It's not the blue flag that makes it less interesting, it's the slow cars.

Branson needs to stop complaining about the rules and get his boys busy on getting their cars into Q3

[Cam]

Anyone who is about to be lapped is not in the race.  It boils down to a choice of whose race should be disrupted, the driver about to be lapped or the driver who is a lap ahead.  I think the choice is fairly clear, keep the blue flags and enforce them rigidly.

Im sure Branson and Fernandes would love the extra tv time they would receive if their cheapskate machines were able to hold up the people who are actually competing for lap after lap.

[Ian]

Ok, keep the blue flag but just have the 4 top teams competing, chuck out the rest with their cheapskate machines.

[Cam]

Works for me 

Dont blue flag them, black flag them 

[John S]

Ok, keep the blue flag but just have the 4 top teams competing, chuck out the rest with their cheapskate machines.

Better still they could just have two cars on the track at one time, starting
half the track apart as in cycling, or just have timed runs like Rallying
and then no one would be in anyones way.         

[cosworth151]

Ok, keep the blue flag but just have the 4 top teams competing, chuck out the rest with their cheapskate machines.

You mean something like what I saw at the U.S.G.P. back in 2005. Trust me, it sucked!

Just because a car isn't in contention for the win doesn't mean it isn't still racing for points.