Five red lights, then darkness. The most nerve-wracking two seconds in sport.
You know the five red lights come on, then they all go out and chaos erupts. But why the dramatic countdown, and what happens in those crucial moments before?
Before any of the drama, there's the formation lap — a slow parade where drivers cruise around the track to warm up their tires and check their cars.
Think of it like stretching before a sprint. Cold tires have less grip than a bar of soap, and F1 cars need every bit of traction for the violent acceleration ahead.
Drivers weave side to side during this lap, flexing their tires like a cat kneading a blanket. They're generating heat through friction.
After the formation lap, cars return to their assigned spots on the starting grid — the painted boxes on the track arranged by qualifying times.
Fastest qualifier gets pole position at the front. Everyone else lines up two-by-two behind them, like the world's most expensive parking lot.
The grid goes quiet. Engines idle. Twenty drivers stare at five red lights mounted on a gantry above the track.
The lights come on one by one, building tension like a drumroll. One red light. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Then — darkness. All lights go out simultaneously. This is lights out — the official race start.
Why the theatrics? Because twenty cars launching at once needs a crystal-clear signal. No ambiguity, no confusion. When those lights vanish, it's go time.
Next time you watch a start, notice how drivers' heads snap forward the instant the lights disappear. Look for the weaving during the formation lap — those aren't victory celebrations, that's tire prep.
And if someone jumps before the lights go out? That's a penalty. The system knows exactly when each car moved.