UIM F4 Adopts F2 Yellow Flag Rules for 2027

UIM F4 will race under the same yellow flag rules as F2 from 2027. The proposal to replace the class’s pace boat procedure was adopted by the UIM Council in Sintra, Portugal, on Saturday 24 October, along with the other three proposals affecting F4, according to the UIM’s published results.

All four were entered by the F2 & F4 Committee, with Pelle Larsson named as author. Larsson was elected COMINSPORT president at the General Assembly the following day. The changes take effect on 1 January 2027.

Yellow Flag Rules Replace the Pace Boat

Proposal 6 deletes Section 5 of the F4 rules, Interrupted Race – Pace Boat Rules, and replaces it with the text of F2’s Interrupted Race – Yellow Flag section. It was supported and adopted, and the results document records no change to the wording published before the vote.

Under the new rules:

• The UIM Race Director, not the Organiser, decides when to interrupt a race, and the leading boat always acts as pace boat.
• A boat judged to be speeding or causing a hazard under yellow will receive a drive-through or one-lap penalty, applied at the end of the race. The current rule says it “may”.
• Drivers may not slow down and back up the field to gain space before the restart, and any boat holding up the field or breaking formation is penalised.
• Any overtaking before the green flag costs a lap.
• Boats line up according to a restart diagram with the leader on the inside, and radio persons are responsible for moving their boats up to fill any gap.
• If the scheduled laps are completed under yellow, the UIM Race Director adds five laps and restarts the race, where appropriate, so it finishes under the chequered flag.

Three parts of the current F4 text do not carry over: the five-second window after the yellow is shown, the distinction between a stationary and a waved yellow flag, and the clause covering a boat running more than 100 metres behind the boat in front.

Race Numbers Reserved With the Licence

Proposal 1 amends General Rule 206.02 for both F4 and F2. Drivers applying for a UIM F4 Series Licence for a new season must also apply to reserve their race number, with priority going to the first application received.

Crane Priority for the Top Six

Under Proposal 7, the top six finishers are lifted out by crane first so they can go directly to Parc Fermé. The remaining boats follow in an order set by the Race Committee or the pontoon marshal, and any boat in difficulty, including water ingress or technical failure, takes priority regardless of finishing position. Failure to follow the procedure can bring a Blue Card for the team’s driver under Rule 406.05.

Same Livery on Both Sides

Proposal 8 requires every F4 and F2 boat to carry the same basic design, colours and markings on its port and starboard sides. The word “basic” was added to the proposed text before adoption.

The 2027 UIM rulebooks are due to be published on the UIM website by Wednesday 23 December 2026 at the latest. The F2 results from the same vote are covered in our UIM F2 2027 rule changes report.