Lights out · Reaction
Five red lights, an unpredictable pause, then nothing — and nothing is the signal. This is the one number every Formula 1 start is judged on before any driving happens.
NextReacting is only the first tenth of a second of a start. Drive the whole thing → — launch on the traction limit, then four gears out to 200 m.
An F1 grid reacts in about 0.2 s. The floor for seeing something change, deciding, and moving is near 0.15 s. Below 0.10 s nobody is reacting — they are guessing when the lights will go out, which is why anything quicker is scored here as a jump start.
The hold is randomised every run, so anticipation is a gamble rather than a technique. The FIA range is 0.2–3.0 s; these games use 0.7–3.0, because at two tenths the fifth light and lights-out are indistinguishable.