Starting Lights for 2004 F1 Season

By Andrew Hooper
December 27 2003

   
2004 Start Lights
 
5 minutes before the start of the warm up lap:   Half an hour before the start, the pit lane is opened. The drivers then have 15 minutes to take up their positions on the starting grid. After these 15 minutes are complete the pit lane is closed.

If any car is unable to make it out onto the circuit by this time, they will have to start the race from the pit lane.

The lights are used to show the teams the time prior to certain events, such as the warm up lap.

5 minutes before the start of the warm up lap, one of the five red lights will go out.
     
3 minutes before the start of the warm up lap:  
     
1 minute before the start of the warm up lap  
     
30 seconds to start of the warm up lap  
      3 minutes before the start of the warm up lap, the second red light goes out and only technicians and officials are allowed to stay by the cars.

1 minute before the start of the warm up lap: The penultimate red light is switched off and the engines are started. All personnel apart from the drivers must leave the grid.
Start of the warm up lap  
       
5 seconds until race start   If a team fails to start a car’s engine up to 15 seconds before the start of the warm-up lap, the car in question must leave the grid. The team may try to start the engine again as soon as the field has left the grid.
       
4 seconds till start   Should the engine start within the allocated 15 seconds, the driver may follow the field but will have to start the race from the back of the grid.
       
3 seconds till start   At the start of the warm-up lap, the last red light is switched off. If a driver is unable to start and has to let others past, he will be allowed to return to his grid position providing he hasn’t been passed by the last driver in the field. If the entire field has passed him, he must start from the back of the grid.
       
2 seconds till start   After the warm-up lap each driver returns to his grid position. When all cars are stationary, the starter will begin the automatic starting procedure.
       
1 seconds till start   The sequence for the start begins. The first red light goes on, followed by the second and third until all lights are lit in sequence. The race is started when the lights all go out again simultaneously. This happens approximately one to three seconds after the last light has been switched on.
       
Race Start!   In the case of an aborted start, the starting light is ‘frozen’ and yellow lights begin flashing. When the re-start is scheduled, all lights are switched off and the entire procedure is started again.
     
 
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