How Do Red Flags Work in F1 24: How To Control Red Flags

Red flags are a big part of Formula 1. They indicate that the race or session has to be stopped for a specific reason such as a crash or if the track becomes unsafe to drive on due to weather conditions.

Last year’s Formula 1 game was the first to implement red flags in a long time. The sim racing community has long asked for this feature, as red flags add another layer of immersion and realism to F1 24.

In this guide, I’ll look at how red flags work in F1 24, how to enable or disable them, and how to change how often a red flag will happen.

What is a red flag, and how do they work in F1 24?

As mentioned, a red flag indicates that the session needs to be stopped immediately. When this happens, drivers return to the pit lane and normally queue up in their current position order. Cars wait in the pit lane until the track becomes safe to race on. At this point, drivers leave the pit lane and normally line up on the grid again.

Do red flags mean another standing start will happen?

During a real-world red flag, the racing director decides whether the race will restart as a standing start or rolling start. This is normally dictated by the current weather conditions, with rolling starts preferred in extremely wet conditions.

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In F1 24, all red flag restarts are standing starts, with drivers lining up on the grid for another race start. The drivers will line up on the grid in the position they were in the race at the point at which the red flag was shown. Then, the lights will go red before going green to signal the restart of the race.

What causes a red flag in Formula 1?

When there is an accident or crash on the track, the yellow flag is the first to be shown. This indicates that drivers should slow down. If the accident is bad enough, a red flag will be shown to stop the session.

The following conditions can trigger red flags in F1 24.

• A crash between multiple AI cars or between the player and the AI
• A mechanical failure
• A car stopping on track
• Extremely wet weather

How to use red flags to improve your race

Red flags are unique in that they let you change your tyres and race strategy while waiting in the pit lane. This ensures all drivers have the same advantage when the race restarts. This is the same in F1 24, with the race strategy screen being accessible during a red flag.

You can use this to your advantage to mix up your race strategy, especially useful if the race wasn’t panning out as planned. For example, you may be using slower hard tyres when the red flag is shown, and switching to a new set of soft or medium tyres can allow you to put in faster lap times.

How to enable or disable red flags in F1 24?

In F1 24, you have complete control over whether red flags are turned on or off. Enabling them allows them to occur at any point during a session, while disabling them ensures you never encounter a red flag.

To turn red flags on or off, you need to do the following;

1. Go into the settings from the main menu
2. Open up the rules & flags settings
3. Scroll down to the red flags options
4. Choose any of the three settings to enable red flags. You can choose between reduced, standard or increased

Can you turn off red flags?

If you want to race without the interruption that a red flag can cause, you can disable them completely in the F1 24 rules and flags settings menu.

Change how often a red flag happens in F1 24

During your season or career mode, you may notice that you see red flags too often or that they don’t happen enough. If this is the case, you can adjust the frequency of red flags in F1 24.

You have three options to choose from with red flags.

• Reduced will lower how often you see a red flag during a race in F1 24. However, they can still happen if there is a big enough incident.
• Standard is the typical setting, making red flags happen at an average rate.
• Increased will make red flags occur more often. With this setting, much smaller crashes can cause a red flag, and you can even see multiple red flags during a single race.

How to change how often red flags happen;

1. Go into the settings and open up the rules & flags menu
2. Scroll down to the red flags option
3. Choose between any of the red flag options

Conclusion

Red flags were a much-requested feature, and they generally work well in F1 24. Seeing a red flag can be very immersive and give you the opportunity to adjust your race strategy. However, a red flag during a race can cause some mayhem as it may mix up the order of the race and bring cars closer together.

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Article written by Rich

Founder of SimRacingSetups.com

Rich is the founder, F1 car setup creator and content writer for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com

View all articles written by Rich