Let’s take a look at some of the problems associated with blue flag rules interpretation in the real racing world. These issues also exist in multiplayer sim racing and are therefore relevant to LFS racers.

Before we continue, it is necessary to understand that different race series and classes around the world may use different rules to each other. It is important to be aware that any information or rules you see published either in print or online may not be universally applicable to all forms of motor racing.
Some uniform rules, however, can be applied to most race situations.
Much of the world’s motor racing regulations are governed by a body called the FIA (Federation Internationale De L’Automobile) and FIA events include the likes of Formula One Racing and many of your other favourite and famous race series too. The FIA is known as a governing body but, as stated above, not all types of racing are governed by the same body or rules, indeed not all racing falls under the FIA’s umbrella of rules, regulations and standards.
In a minute we will take a look at the FIA blue flag and overtaking rules and see why there are often conflicting ways of interpreting or applying them on the race track. My goal here is to hopefully shed enough light on the subject so that racers can participate in a quality discussion about blue flag rules and their application to sim racing. Perhaps our community can reach a consensus on this issue that may lead to cleaner racing with less confusion about what to do when presented with a blue flag?

Now let’s examine some of the main gripes that drivers and race officials have applying current blue flag rules.

- Many drivers do not notice the blue flag or they take too long to respond to it.
This slows down the faster drivers who have a legitimate right to an easy overtake. Races can be won or lost due to the behaviour of back markers (cars that have been, or are about to become, lapped cars).

- Dangerous incidents may occur due to the manner in which a driver yields to the overtaking car.
In racing, rapid changes of direction, erratic driving or suddenly changing your line are all to be avoided for reasons of safety and fair play. Unpredictable driving is dangerous to other racers, especially at high speeds when there is little time to react.

- Some blue flag rules are difficult to apply in some situations and may appear to contradict certain overtaking rules.
Confusion about the wording of rules and their apparent application makes the adoption of a consensus difficult. In some situations a literal interpretation of the rules seems illogical or simply unsafe in application. Furthermore, ten-second stop & go penalties and black flags are not popular among fans or teams and tend to generally detract from a positive motorsport experience. By the same token, too casual an application of the rules may disadvantage the overtaking car even to the point of losing the race or championship.

Listed below is an example of blue flag rules taken from the FIA’s International Sporting Code & Appendices for 2006.

Light Blue flag:
This should normally be waved, as an indication to a driver that
he is about to be overtaken. It has different meanings during
practice and the race.

At all times :
- A stationary flag should be displayed to a driver leaving the pits
if traffic is approaching on the track.

During practice :
-Give way to a faster car which is about to overtake you.

During the race :
- The flag should normally be shown to a car about to be
lapped and, when shown, the driver concerned must allow the
following car to pass at the earliest opportunity.

I’ll briefly deal with the basic stuff here first:
- As a driver, if you are presented with a blue flag it means a faster car is approaching you from behind. So that is the main thing to remember, the blue flag is an indicator that a faster car is approaching. This is the main job of any blue flag. It is a warning, not a penalty.

- If you are leaving the pits and a car on the track is approaching the area near where you will exit the pits a stationary blue flag will be shown at the pit exit. This is a basic blue flag warning to let the driver leaving the pits know that caution is required and technically the approaching car should be yielded to. This is a rarely-penalised offense, however if an accident ensues or the approaching car lodges a protest to the actions of the car that is under the blue flag then a penalty is likely to be the result.
* In modern pits the blue flag is often replaced by a blue light which has exactly the same meaning as the flag.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what a blue flag is for we can explore different situations where it is used:

- A waved blue flag means more than just the basic definition tells us. When a blue flag is waved the driver who it is meant for must take action. Sometimes a blue flag is not waved (it is just held stationary) although it is a rare sight these days it serves as a warning of a faster car approaching. I can’t find any special rules about the stationary blue flag; its meaning seems only to be loosely implied. It seems to be a safety provision more than a disciplinary tool and I mention it here only to contrast with the meaning of a waved blue flag.

- So a waved blue means that you must take action, but what type of action should you take? The FIA has different rules for practice and racing. Here is where the confusion begins.
During practice the driver must “give way” when shown a waved blue flag but in the race the instruction changes to “…must allow the following car to pass at the earliest opportunity”. Seemingly, the FIA doesn’t feel that a driver must “give way” in a race when shown a blue flag. What do they mean by “giving way”? Below is an excerpt from the code of driving conduct which can be found in appendix L of the sporting code, notice the reference to giving way.

2. Overtaking
a) during a race, a car alone on the track may use the full width of
the said track. However, as soon as it is caught up on a straight
by a car which is either temporarily or constantly faster, the driver
shall give the other vehicle the right of way by pulling over to one
side in order to allow for passing on the other side.

So if that is the FIA’s idea of giving way then one may assume that in a race situation this is not what a driver is required to do when presented with a blue flag. Instead a driver “must allow the following car to pass at the earliest opportunity”. But, according to the above overtaking rule, the correct way to be overtaken is to move to the other side of the track and let the pursuing car through. Who decides what is “the earliest opportunity” to allow the faster car to pass? Why then doesn’t the blue flag rule just say “give way to the following car during race or practice”? Another curious point we find in this rule is the mention of the car that catches up “on a straight” as being eligible for right of way. If a car catches you in a twisting part of the track or a corner this rule seemingly does not apply. This rule then seems to apply to cars traveling on a straight.
Perhaps the reason for the wording of such rules is because the flagged car is in the middle of a battle for position with another car, both of these back-markers must obey the blue flag but they wouldn’t want to throw away their current battle by moving immediately to the other side of the track. Just because you are placed tenth and eleventh in the race doesn’t mean your race is less important to you and your team than the faster cars' race is to them.
Another reason may be because it would be dangerous to move over to the other side of the track at that point in time. A loose rule allows for some justified flexibility here. Many rules in racing are a bit open-ended to allow for flexibility in interpretation to cover these special incidents.
It is the flagged driver(s) who decides when the acceptable time to yield has arrived, sometimes the pursuing drivers (or the race stewards) won’t agree with his timing. Sometimes disagreement arises from the manner in which the flagged drive responds. Let’s now look in more detail at overtaking safety:

2. Overtaking
a) during a race, a car alone on the track may use the full width of
the said track. However, as soon as it is caught up on a straight
by a car which is either temporarily or constantly faster, the driver
shall give the other vehicle the right of way by pulling over to one
side in order to allow for passing on the other side.
b) if the driver who has been caught does not seem to make full use
of his rear-view mirror the fl ag marshal(s) will give a warning by
waving the blue fl ag to indicate that another competitor wants to
overtake.
Any driver who does not take notice of the blue fl ag may be
penalised by the Sporting Stewards.
Systematic or repeated offences may result in the exclusion of
the offender from the race.
c) curves, as well as the approach and exit zones thereof, may be
negotiated by the drivers in any way they wish, within the limits
of the track. Overtaking, according to the circumstances, may be
done either on the right or on the left.
However, manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers such as
premature changes of direction, more than one change of
direction, deliberate crowding of cars towards the inside or the
outside of the curve or any other abnormal change of direction,
are strictly prohibited and shall be penalised, according to the
importance and repetition of the offences, by penalties ranging
from a fi ne to the exclusion from the race. The repetition of
dangerous driving, even involuntary, may result in the exclusion
from the race.
d) any obstructive manoeuvre carried out by one or several
drivers, either having common interests or not, is prohibited.
The persistent driving abreast of several vehicles, as well as fanshaped
arrangement, is authorised only if there is not another car
trying to overtake. Otherwise the blue fl ag will be waved.
e) the penalty infl icted for ignoring the blue fl ag will also be applied
to the drivers who obstruct part of the track and shall be more
severe in the case of systematic obstruction, thus ranging from
a fi ne to the exclusion from the race. The same penalty shall be
applied to drivers who swing from one side of the track to the
other in order to prevent other competitors from overtaking.
f) the repetition of serious mistakes or the appearance of a lack
of control over the car (such as leaving the track) may entail the
exclusion of the drivers concerned.
g) the race track alone shall be used by the drivers during the race.

Now we can understand how blue flag rules and overtaking rules share common ground. Although there is an issue of fair play to consider for both the overtaker and the overtakee, the main issue, as far as rules go, is one of safety.

I suggest that there are two main types of drivers when it comes to lapping back-markers or slower cars and this stands for real racing as well as sim racing.
- One type of driver expects the slower car to move over immediately and leave the normal racing line clear for his approach.
- The second type of driver expects the slower car to stay close to the normal racing line, avoiding any sudden moves and allowing a safe and easy pass to occur. Able to predict where the flagged car will be allows the driver to overtake safely and without incident.

I suggest that there are three main types of drivers when it comes to being lapped by a faster car.
- One type of driver judges the current situation in relation to safety, his own race position and battle, with consideration for the faster driver in accordance with the rules. He will allow the following car(s) a safe and easy pass at the first reasonable opportunity.
- The second type of driver understands that a faster car is about to lap him but is not prepared to disadvantage himself too much in his current battle or position and makes little attempt to make a pass easy. He knows the faster car will overtake him eventually so why lose any time by slowing down for a car which is clearly faster? This type of driver will still yield to the faster car but when only at a time that serves their own needs best.
- The third type of driver is one who lacks understanding of the proper way to respond to a blue flag situation and may hesitate or rush at a critical moment to the detriment of all cars nearby.

Sometimes drivers just don’t realize the blue flag is for them, many drivers from rookies to world champions alike have made this error.

Summarising the above rules:
- “Giving way” to a lapping car seems to mean moving over to one side and allowing the car to pass on the other. In a practice session you should give way to faster car immediately.
- “Allowing a car to pass” seems to mean something different from giving way though it is not made clear how this is to be achieved exactly.
- The rules governing overtaking seem to suggest predictable and non-erratic behaviour from all parties involved, especially from the car which is being overtaken. Presumably yielding to a blue flag under race conditions should be performed within the boundaries of these rules.
- There appears to be some contradiction or lack of clarity between what is acceptable and what is legal under the blue flag rules. The main debate focuses on the difference between giving way and simply yielding; allowing the faster car to pass easily. Giving way has been the cause of real life accidents when the overtaking car did not expect the flagged car to move over into its path. Many drivers prefer the flagged car to hold its line and simply reduce speed to allow a clean and fast pass to occur. Other drivers see the blue flag as their right to a clear track, indeed it is understandable that the two schools of thought exist given the way the blue flag and overtaking rules may be read.
- Taken literally the rules demand that (on a straight) any car should yield to any faster car, regardless of race position, yet we know this is not how things really work. The dynamic nature of a motor race demands some flexibility in the way rules are applied and therefore some rules are open-ended or muddy in their detail.
- Without human management (race stewards and officials fill this role) rules alone can not govern or manage a motor race. For race simulators this means that the creation of a fully automatic and fully comprehensive flag and penalty system managed by software is only a remote possibility. There are going to be many situations where a decision needs to be made in a more flexible manner, requiring several variables to be considered. Even in real life this process is far from perfect.
Some latitude is required by sim racers if they are to be satisfied with the quality of racing that a race sim may provide when software is making the decisions relating to penalties and warnings.

As I stated in the early parts of this presentation, the FIA rules don’t govern all of motorsport. You can find plenty of non-FIA events that use similar rules with varying degrees of interpretation. You may even come across some rules that seem very stupid indeed. The thing to remember is that no single body of rules is perfect, rules are put in place for safety and fairness and it is difficult to create a perfect proportion of each for a given genre of motor racing. As drivers we all want a system that seems to offer a chance of competing fairly and safely. But more importantly we want a system that reduces unpredictable driving behaviour, whether it is due to poor interpretation or poorly-written rules. To win a race first you must finish it.

How can I help?
If you are shown the blue flag it is important to make a good judgment about how to react and when to react. Your own race position is important to you of course, and you will want to minimize the disadvantage that often accompanies yielding to a faster driver, but the rules state that the faster driver must be allowed to pass. Find an early opportunity to allow him to go by, don’t put yourself out of the race though, just make it easy for him to continue on his way.

If you are about to lap a slow car or back-marker, try to drive smoothly and remain calm. If he is engaged in a battle with another car or is negotiating a difficult part of the circuit, don’t expect him to leap out of your way immediately, he has a race on his hands too. In LFS, repeatedly spamming: “Blue flag move over now!!! blue flag move over now!!!” is likely to have the opposite effect than you desire.

If you are the organiser of events or racing clubs please consider writing a code of conduct and some clarifying rules to ensure predictable and uniform behaviour in relation to blue flags and overtaking. Educate and inform your members so that your racing is a clean and high quality experience with minimal incidents and conflict.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!
I have only presented some basic information here and in no way is this meant to be a detailed expose on race rules. I am merely inviting discussion about some of the more confusing aspects of a common race rule, and one that affects sim racers worldwide. If you are interested in digging deeper into this topic I have supplied some links below for your convenience. When interpreting rules it is wise to keep an open mind and consider all situations where the rule may apply. Some rules are very specific and clear. Other rules are trying to cover many situations or variables and can suffer from being too general to be applied literally to a given situation or incident.

My aim in this topic is not to spark an argument about who prefers to take whatever stance, but rather to promote discussion and understanding so that when race time comes around more racers are conforming to a workable rule-set that is both as safe and fair as possible within the limits of software controlled warnings and penalties of a race sim. At this point in time I believe that truly realistic and comprehensive race management for online racing events can only be achieved with some human intervention. Literal interpretation of warnings or penalties can sometimes be inadequate in such a dynamic and complex event as a motor race.

Information quoted for this presentation can be found here:
INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE AN ... NDICES - 2006 Regulations

An example of applying CAMS and FIA regulations to Australian Saloon Car Racing.
Tascco Track Control & Flag Signalling (Based on CAMS manual)

An example of NASCAR flag rules for comparison. Check out the blue flag (with orange stripe) rule to see an alternative application to the FIA one.
Flags In Nascar Racing