A failure in the electronic blue flag signaling system caused moments of confusion during the Hungarian GP of Formula 1. The problem caused several drivers to receive incorrect or incomplete warnings on their steering wheels, contributing to incidents and making it difficult to manage backmarkers throughout the race.
Read more F1: Haas left the Hungarian GP with zero points after difficulties: «Didn’t have the pace»
According to Motorsport information, the FIA identified the failure during the race and began to rely only on physical flags and illuminated panels around the circuit. However, as the warnings displayed on the steering wheel no longer indicated the car number to which the blue flag referred, several drivers reported difficulty knowing when they actually needed to make way.
Esteban Ocon explained that the problem created doubts during on-track battles. “We had no warning on the steering wheel. We only saw the blue flag panels, but without our number. For example, I was battling with Isack Hadjar coming out of the pits, but I was a lap down and didn’t know. I might have hindered him for three corners. When the engineers told me I wasn’t battling him for position, it was already too late, because the blue flag was flashing the whole lap. So, it really wasn’t clear,” he stated.
The confusion was also linked to the contact between Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri at the exit of Turn 2. The incident hindered the McLaren driver, who lost the race lead to his teammate, Lando Norris, while trying to lap the Williams driver.
Sainz stated that he was unaware of Piastri’s approach at that moment. “At that point, I had no idea I was about to be lapped. Also, I was in a big battle with Fernando (Alonso), trying to overtake him on the entry to the corner. I didn’t expect Oscar to be there. Even if he was, he was in my blind spot, so, honestly, it was impossible to avoid contact from my side. Maybe better communication would have helped, but these are things that sometimes happen in racing,” he explained.
Read more F1: Russell says he is «beyond disappointment» after Hungarian GP setback
Despite the situation, Sainz received a five-second penalty. The stewards understood that McLaren’s position in the Spaniard’s blind spot was a mitigating factor, but the blue flag failure was not considered in the decision. Therefore, the penalty applied was five seconds, not ten.
Oliver Bearman was also penalized for not respecting blue flags when caught by Hadjar. The Haas driver regretted the incident and said that the failure made it practically impossible to identify when the warning was actually directed at him.
“I feel bad about the blue flag penalty with Hadjar, because honestly it was a nightmare. In the middle of the circuit, you practically have no time to look in the mirrors, and throughout the race, blue flag warnings kept appearing. This time they weren’t working correctly, so it was hard to know if it was for me, for the car behind, or for the car ahead. Obviously, it wasn’t on purpose, I was a lap down and wasn’t trying to hinder anyone, but I feel bad if I compromised someone’s race,” he declared.
Bearman also revealed that the problems started right in the initial laps. “After six laps I was already getting blue flags and I thought: ‘This is strange, we’re not so slow as to be lapped in six laps.’ From the sixth to the 70th lap there were blue flags practically on every pass. It was very difficult to know what was real, what was false, and what was for me, because normally the car number appears, and this time, only the blue flag appeared. So I had to rely heavily on the team to guide me,” he concluded.
Read more F1: Stewards explain reduced penalty for Sainz in Hungary
