The drama keeps on piling up at the 2024 Sao Paulo GP. Franco Colapinto’s heavy crash under the Safety Car prompted a Red Flag, bringing the race to a halt. Meanwhile, in the pits, Nico Hulkenberg’s race took a serious hit when the FIA Stewards showed him the Black Flag, ending his run at Interlagos.
Black Flags are not a common occurrence in modern-day F1. However, they still do exist under the regulations of the FIA. A Black Flag is usually shown to a driver when he has been disqualified by the stewards.
The standard procedure is to display the driver’s race number alongside the Black Flag to indicate disqualification. At the time of writing, the Kannapolis-based team issued a statement explaining the reason behind Hulkenberg’s disqualification.
BLACK FLAG
Nico Hulkenberg has been disqualified for being pushed back onto the track by race marshals after getting beached on a kerb on Lap 28 ❌#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/b0akvI7nC1
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
According to the Sporting Regulations, drivers are prohibited from receiving assistance to rejoin any session. After car #27 beached itself outside Turn 1, the marshals pushed it back onto the track, resulting in the stewards issuing a race-ending penalty to the Haas driver.
When the race resumed after the Red Flag, the German driver was not permitted to rejoin the proceedings with the other drivers. However, no penalty points were added to Hulkenberg’s super license, as these infringements are not considered a direct threat to the sport’s safety standards.
