Safety & Incidents

Overview

The safety and incidents tables document race interruptions, safety measures, and historical fatal accidents. These tables provide crucial context for understanding race conditions and the evolution of safety in Formula 1.

safety_cars.csv

Records of safety car deployments during races.

Schema

Race

string

required

Name of the Grand Prix (e.g., “1973 Canadian Grand Prix”).Example: "1973 Canadian Grand Prix"

Cause

string

required

Reason for safety car deployment.Example: "Accident", "Accident/Rain", "Stranded car"

Deployed

integer

required

Lap number when safety car was deployed.Example: 33

Retreated

float

Lap number when safety car retreated (returned to pit lane). May be decimal if SC retreated mid-lap.Example: 39.0

FullLaps

integer

required

Number of full laps completed under safety car.Example: 5

Sample Data

Race	Cause	Deployed	Retreated	FullLaps
1973 Canadian Grand Prix	Accident	33	39.0	5
1993 Brazilian Grand Prix	Accident/Rain	29	38.0	8
1993 British Grand Prix	Stranded car	38	40.0	1
1994 San Marino Grand Prix	Accident	1	6.0	4

Historical Context

First Safety Car: The safety car was first officially used in Formula 1 at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix.

Modern Usage: Safety car deployments have become more frequent in modern F1 as a tool for managing incidents safely.

Common Causes

Accident - Collision or crash requiring track cleanup
Stranded car - Disabled vehicle on or near racing line
Weather - Rain, fog, or other hazardous conditions
Debris - Track debris requiring removal
Accident/Rain - Combined incident and weather conditions

red_flags.csv

Records of red flag incidents (race stoppages).

Schema

Race

string

required

Name of the Grand Prix.Example: "1973 British Grand Prix"

Lap

integer

required

Lap number when red flag was shown.Example: 2

Resumed

string

required

Whether and how the race resumed:

Y = Yes, race resumed
N = No, race did not resume
R = Race restarted from grid
S = Race restarted from pit lane

Example: "Y"

Incident

string

required

Description of the incident that caused the red flag.Example: "Crash involving Jody Scheckter..."

Excluded

string

List of drivers excluded from restart (crashed out or otherwise unable to continue).Example: "Jody Scheckter, Jean-Pierre Beltoise..."

Sample Data

Race	Lap	Resumed	Incident
1950 Indianapolis 500	138	N	Rain.
1971 Canadian Grand Prix	64	N	Mist.
1973 British Grand Prix	2	Y	Crash involving Jody Scheckter…
1974 Brazilian Grand Prix	32	N	Rain.

Historical Context

Early Red Flags: Red flags were rare in early F1 history, primarily used for extreme weather or major incidents.

Modern Safety: Modern F1 uses red flags more proactively to ensure driver safety during barrier repairs or multi-car incidents.

Race Results: If a race is red-flagged and not resumed, results are typically taken from the last completed lap before the stoppage.

virtual_safety_car_estimates.json

Estimated virtual safety car (VSC) periods by race.

Schema

This is a JSON file with the following structure:

{
  "[Race Name]": [lap_numbers],
  "2015 Belgian Grand Prix": [20, 21],
  "2015 British Grand Prix": [32, 33, 34]
}

Key

string

required

Race name (Grand Prix).Example: "2015 Belgian Grand Prix"

Value

array

required

Array of lap numbers when VSC was active.Example: [20, 21] (VSC on laps 20 and 21)

Sample Data

{
  "2015 Belgian Grand Prix": [20, 21],
  "2015 British Grand Prix": [32, 33, 34],
  "2015 Hungarian Grand Prix": [41, 42],
  "2015 Monaco Grand Prix": [62, 63, 64]
}

Historical Context

VSC Introduction: The Virtual Safety Car was introduced in 2015 as a safer alternative to yellow flags for incidents that don’t require a full safety car.

Estimated Data: These are estimates based on timing data and may not be 100% accurate. Official VSC data is not always publicly available.

Speed Delta: Under VSC, drivers must maintain a target lap time (typically 30-40% slower than racing speed).

fatal_accidents_drivers.csv

Historical record of fatal accidents involving Formula 1 drivers.

Schema

Driver

string

required

Name of the driver.Example: "Ayrton Senna"

Age

integer

required

Age of the driver at time of accident.Example: 34

Date Of Accident

string

required

Date of the accident (M/D/YY format).Example: "5/1/94"

Event

string

required

Name of the event where accident occurred.Example: "1994 San Marino Grand Prix"

Car

string

required

Constructor/car the driver was in.Example: "Williams"

Session

string

required

Session type (Practice, Qualifying, Race, Test).Example: "Race"

Sample Data

Driver	Age	Date Of Accident	Event	Car	Session
Cameron Earl	29	6/18/52	N/A	ERA	Test
Chet Miller	50	5/15/53	1953 Indianapolis 500	Kurtis Kraft	Practice
Charles de Tornaco	26	9/18/53	1953 Modena Grand Prix	Ferrari	Practice
Onofre Marimón	30	7/31/54	1954 German Grand Prix	Maserati	Practice

Historical Context

Safety Evolution: This dataset documents the tragic history of driver fatalities in F1, highlighting the importance of safety improvements over the decades.

Modern Safety: The last driver fatality in an F1 race weekend was Jules Bianchi in 2014 (from injuries sustained in 2014 Japanese GP). No driver has died during an F1 session since 1994.

Respectful Use: This data should be used respectfully when analyzing historical safety improvements and risks.

fatal_accidents_marshalls.csv

Historical record of fatal accidents involving race marshals.

Schema

Name

string

required

Name of the marshal.Example: "Paolo Gislimberti"

Age

integer

required

Age of the marshal at time of accident.Example: 33

Date Of Accident

string

required

Date of the accident (M/D/YY format).Example: "9/10/00"

Event

string

required

Name of the event where accident occurred.Example: "2000 Italian Grand Prix"

Sample Data

Name	Age	Date Of Accident	Event
Günther Schneider	19	8/4/63	1963 German Grand Prix
Jansen van Vuuren	19	3/5/77	1977 South African Grand Prix
Paolo Gislimberti	33	9/10/00	2000 Italian Grand Prix
Graham Beveridge	52	3/4/01	2001 Australian Grand Prix

Historical Context

Marshal Safety: These incidents led to major improvements in marshal safety, including better protective equipment, barriers, and protocols.

Volunteer Service: Marshals are typically volunteers who play a crucial role in F1 safety. Their sacrifice has driven safety improvements for both track workers and drivers.

Example Queries

Count Safety Car Deployments by Cause

SELECT Cause, COUNT(*) as count
FROM safety_cars
GROUP BY Cause
ORDER BY count DESC

Average Safety Car Duration

SELECT AVG(FullLaps) as avg_laps_under_sc
FROM safety_cars

Red Flag Races That Resumed

SELECT Race, Lap, Incident
FROM red_flags
WHERE Resumed = 'Y'
ORDER BY Race

VSC Usage by Season

// Using the JSON data
const vscData = require('./virtual_safety_car_estimates.json');
const racesByYear = {};

Object.keys(vscData).forEach(race => {
  const year = race.match(/\d{4}/)[0];
  if (!racesByYear[year]) racesByYear[year] = 0;
  racesByYear[year]++;
});

console.log(racesByYear);

Data Usage Tips

Race Name Matching: Safety and incident tables use race names (strings) rather than raceId. You may need to join via race name matching or manual mapping.

Incomplete Coverage: Not all safety car deployments may be recorded, especially for historical races. Coverage improves significantly from the 2000s onward.

Sensitive Data: The fatal accident tables contain sensitive historical information. Use this data thoughtfully and respectfully in analyses.

Get Started

Data Access

Data Schema

Guides

Safety & Incidents

Overview

safety_cars.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

Common Causes

red_flags.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

virtual_safety_car_estimates.json

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

fatal_accidents_drivers.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

fatal_accidents_marshalls.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

Example Queries

Count Safety Car Deployments by Cause

Average Safety Car Duration

Red Flag Races That Resumed

VSC Usage by Season

Data Usage Tips

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Data Access

Data Schema

Guides

​Overview

​safety_cars.csv

​Schema

​Sample Data

​Historical Context

​Common Causes

​red_flags.csv

​Schema

​Sample Data

​Historical Context

​virtual_safety_car_estimates.json

​Schema

​Sample Data

​Historical Context

​fatal_accidents_drivers.csv

​Schema

​Sample Data

​Historical Context

​fatal_accidents_marshalls.csv

​Schema

​Sample Data

​Historical Context

​Example Queries

​Count Safety Car Deployments by Cause

​Average Safety Car Duration

​Red Flag Races That Resumed

​VSC Usage by Season

​Data Usage Tips

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

safety_cars.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

Common Causes

red_flags.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

virtual_safety_car_estimates.json

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

fatal_accidents_drivers.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

fatal_accidents_marshalls.csv

Schema

Sample Data

Historical Context

Example Queries

Count Safety Car Deployments by Cause

Average Safety Car Duration

Red Flag Races That Resumed

VSC Usage by Season

Data Usage Tips