Prior to the restart of the race the cars are typically arranged in a single-file line with respect to the position they held just prior to the full course caution inducing incident. Once the green flag is dropped, the race is back on. Some sanctioning bodies allow passing immediately, meaning that cars must pull out of line in order to complete the pass, while other organizations stipulate that the competitors must be past start/finish before they can pull out to pass. Either way, restarts for me are one of the most challenging periods in the sport. In shorter full-course caution periods, the car is still at or near proper temperatures in terms of tires, brakes and gearbox, and when the green flies the intensity is high.
A good driver who is on his game can use restarts as an advantage, especially if at some point during the race the driver fell back due to unforeseen issues. The restart allows all of the cars that were at one time potentially spread out on track to gather back up, and in many cases makes the racing more interesting. Of course, the scenario isn't good for everyone. If you happened to be out front leading the event and having a comfortable cushion to the rest of the field, the last thing you want is to be bunched up again, where you now are under the risk of being passed, but that's just part of the sport, and if you earned the right to be up front in the first place, you'll most likely end up there again once the racing action resumes.
Who would have thought there was so much to a single flag. Next month we'll talk about yellow flags and what the various versions of the yellow mean. You might be surprised how much strategy is involved in going slow!