> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://offthepace.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Race Control

> Bronze-layer event log.

Bronze-layer event log. One row per race control message. \~50–200 rows per race (average \~100). Covers flags, incidents, safety car deployments, and procedure messages.

## Overview

| Property          | Value                                                              |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| File pattern      | `bronze/race_control/season=YYYY/race=<slug>/race_control.parquet` |
| Example row count | 2024 Bahrain: \~120 messages                                       |

<Note>
  session\_time\_s is null for all 2024 races due to FastF1 v3.8.3 API change. Use `Lap` instead; join to laps via lap number for precise timing. `message` text is unstructured   use regex or fuzzy matching. Race only; race control is never written for qualifying sessions.
</Note>

<Warning>
  **Columns that look real but aren't.** A search for one of
  these on this dataset will come up empty:

  * `code` Never ingested; there is no `code` column in any partition.
  * `lap (lowercase)` The real column is Title-Case `Lap`.
  * `time (lowercase)` The real column is Title-Case `Time`.
  * `flag (lowercase)` The real column is Title-Case `Flag`.
</Warning>

## Columns

<ResponseField name="Lap" type="integer">
  Lap number when message triggered. Null for pre-race messages (parades, formation laps). *Source: FastF1 native.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="Time" type="TIMESTAMP_NS">
  Message timestamp (session clock). *Source: FastF1 native.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="session_time_s" type="float64">
  Time in seconds since session start. **Null for all 2024 races** due to FastF1 v3.8.3 DatetimeProperties API change. Use `Lap` for joins instead. ⚠️ *Null for 2024 races (FastF1 v3.8.3 regression)* *Source: FastF1 native.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="Flag" type="string">
  Flag colour: GREEN, YELLOW, DOUBLE YELLOW, RED, CLEAR, CHEQUERED, BLUE. Null for non-flag messages. *Source: FastF1 native.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="category" type="string">
  Message category: 'Weather', 'Incident', 'CarEvent', 'SafetyCar', 'Procedure', etc. *Source: FastF1 native.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="message" type="string">
  Human-readable message text. Unstructured   values include 'Safety car deployed', 'Debris on track', 'Lapped car released'. Use regex or fuzzy matching. *Source: FastF1 native.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="race_id" type="string" required>
  Links to `laps.race_id`. Format: `YYYY_RoundNumber`. *Source: Ingestion pipeline.*
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="season" type="integer" required>
  Hive partition key. *Source: Ingestion pipeline.*
</ResponseField>

## Required Columns

These columns are always present (non-null, always ingested): `race_id`, `season`.