As an F1 fan, you probably already know what “going purple” means. But in today’s video, I want to discuss why the color purple—rather than any other color—was chosen to represent the fastest lap or sector, and where this practice might have originated.
Since there are always new fans joining the sport, let’s quickly explain first: An F1 track is divided into three main timing sectors, and each of these contains many smaller mini-sectors. Whether it’s during practice sessions, qualifying (Q1–Q3), or the race itself, whenever a driver sets the fastest overall time in a sector, we say they “went purple” in that sector.
On the live broadcast during practice and qualifying, we can also see the driver’s performance across all three sectors: purple means the fastest of all, green indicates a personal best, while yellow doesn’t mean slowest—it simply shows that the driver didn’t beat their own previous best time. This color-coding system makes watching more immersive. And when a driver manages to go purple in all three sectors to take pole position, the excitement and engagement it brings are unmatched.
So, why does F1 use purple to represent the fastest times? The truth is, there isn’t an official explanation. But based on research, here are some likely reasons:
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Symbolism of Purple
Purple has long symbolized royalty and prestige in many cultures. Using it to mark the top performance—the fastest time on track—makes symbolic sense. Much like in gaming, where purple gear often represents higher rarity or level, the same concept applies here. -
Avoiding Color Confusion
In F1’s signaling system, green, yellow, red, and blue already carry very specific meanings. To avoid any overlap or confusion, purple—being a less commonly used color—was a perfect choice to represent this unique and positive achievement. -
Cultural and Linguistic Influence
In English, there’s a phrase called a purple patch, used to describe a period of great success or peak performance for a person or team. Applying this to F1, using purple to represent a driver’s outstanding sector performance feels natural and fitting. -
Technological and Broadcasting Factors
Back in the 1980s, when monitors first began supporting color, the ANSI color codes used in terminals and consoles only offered eight options: black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, and cyan. With other colors already widely used in racing contexts, magenta (a shade very close to purple) became the logical choice for highlighting the fastest laps.
As for when the term “going purple” first appeared, while the color system on TV broadcasts only matured in the 2010s, the word purple itself had already been used in the F1 world much earlier. One of the earliest examples comes from Williams team founder Frank Williams. In a 2000 interview, while praising Ralf Schumacher, he said: “he went purple purple,” meaning the driver was continuously setting fastest sectors. This suggests that as early as the late 1990s, F1 teams were already using purple internally on timing screens or in engineering language to mark the fastest times, even if it wasn’t public. Over time, the system was adopted by FOM and integrated into the graphics we see in modern F1 broadcasts, becoming an essential part of both commentary and fan experience.
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