VSC
VSC stands for Virtual Safety Car, a safety procedure used in Formula 1 and other motorsports that slows down all cars on the track during dangerous situations without deploying an actual safety car vehicle.
When something hazardous happens on the track—like debris scattered across the racing line or a recovery vehicle helping a stranded car—race officials need to slow things down to keep everyone safe. The VSC does this electronically rather than sending out a physical safety car that drivers must follow around the circuit.
Here's how the Virtual Safety Car works: When race control activates it, all teams receive a message saying "VSC DEPLOYED" and special light boards around the track display "VSC." At that moment, every driver must immediately slow down to a specific speed. Drivers see a delta time display in their cockpit that tells them if they're going slow enough—they must stay above a minimum time in each section of the track to comply with the VSC rules.
During a VSC period, overtaking is strictly forbidden. Drivers must maintain their positions and keep a steady, reduced pace. However, they are allowed to enter the pit lane for tire changes or repairs, which sometimes creates strategic opportunities for teams. Once the danger has passed, teams receive a "VSC ENDING" message, followed 10 to 15 seconds later by green lights that signal racing can resume immediately.
The main advantage of the Virtual Safety Car over a traditional safety car is that it maintains the gaps between cars. Under a regular safety car, the entire field bunches up behind the safety car vehicle, erasing any lead a driver had built up. With the VSC, if you were five seconds ahead before it was deployed, you'll still be roughly five seconds ahead when racing resumes.
Formula 1 introduced the VSC system in 2015, partly in response to Jules Bianchi's tragic accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. The concept was inspired by "slow zones" used in endurance racing at events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The first official use of the Virtual Safety Car in F1 came during the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix.
The VSC represents a middle ground between full racing conditions and a complete safety car deployment. It's used when the situation is too dangerous for normal racing with just yellow flags, but not quite serious enough to require bunching up the entire field behind a safety car. This makes races safer while also keeping the competition more fair, since drivers don't lose hard-earned advantages due to circumstances beyond their control.