Due to a software error, the field assumed there would be a one-lap shootout on Sunday afternoon to decide the end of the British Grand Prix. Even if this didn’t happen, Lewis Hamilton was somehow still the driver who had to suffer.
It was assumed that the race would continue with a one-lap shootout following Max Verstappen’s crash at Stowe with four laps to go. The message “Safety Car in This Lap” was displayed over the communication lines. Ferrari had already made the decision to sign Hamilton, give him fresh tires and move him back to third from his deserved second place.
Then the safety car continued to rotate with the field now comprising 19 cars, costing Hamilton six net points in his battle with George Russell for second place in the WDC standings.
Now, four and a half years removed from one of the most controversial race finishes, Hamilton should be the driver with fresh tires to take on a Mercedes. A reflection of the time when Verstappen overtook him for the 2021 championship.
Former race director Michael Masi made the decision to remove the safety car and end the race and thus the championship fight on green. Verstappen had pitted to get fresh tires, but Hamilton had not. That controversial call led to the overtaking maneuver that won Verstappen his first championship.
In 2026, an experienced Mercedes driver gained a favorable position because the safety car remained out, which was literally the opposite of what happened in Abu Dhabi in 2021, resulting in Red Bull’s Max Verstappen winning the first championship and costing then-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton his eighth championship.
When asked by PA Media’s Phil Duncan about the safety car finish, Russell knows how happy he is to have finished second and extended his lead over Hamilton.
“I mean, of course it’s a shame when a race ends in the safety car,” said Russell. “But then you go back to Abu Dhabi ’21 and that’s just how racing goes. Nobody can plan an incident for anyone and the way Formula 1 and the FIA deal with it should be no different at the end of the race than it was at the start of the race. Obviously there was a lot of conversation after Abu Dhabi ’21. If you actually look at the number of races that have finished under the safety car in the last 20 years, this isn’t actually an accident.” So, like I said, it’s a shame, but what can you do?
Hamilton chose not to add anything to Russell’s response: “Yeah, same thing George said. There’s not really much more to add.”
In both cases a driver was affected by Toto Wolff and he agrees that the stewards should finish the race with caution rather than drastically changing the finish to create a thrilling finish.
“Well, I would have preferred this to have happened in 1921,” Wolff told reporters Road and railThis is Adam Cooper. “That was more important, but it’s good that the regulations were respected. Sometimes it’s not the most exciting final, especially not in terms of spectacle. Everyone would have liked to see Lewis on soft against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc, but the show follows the sport and not the other way around, so it’s good that the FIA made this decision.”
F1 has claimed that it was a mistake and that “the ‘Safety Car in This Lap’ message was incorrectly displayed due to a software error”. There was no plan to go green again for a lap after the cleanup after Verstappen’s accident.
The regulation used for this decision is in the “Safety Car” section, Article B5 13.5, and states: “After the de-rounding process, a lap must be completed.”
The Safety Car Time Regulations, Article B5. 13.5 states that one round must be completed after the de-rounding process. This process was followed by Race Operations.
Things almost got worse for Hamilton after the race when he was remanded in custody for a single yellow flag violation. Following the mitigation, the stewards decided that Hamilton would receive a reprimand but no penalty, meaning he would retain his podium place.
One of the mitigating reasons was that when Hamilton showed the yellow flag, he was in a duel with Verstappen on the straight as he exited the ninth corner and did not cross a yellow light on the track during the safety car period, but simply missed the display in his Ferrari.
When Hamilton was asked about the infringement at the start of the press conference, he explained that he was literally passing Verstappen when it happened.
“I literally just passed Max,” Hamilton said. “So I came through Turn 9 and I was literally staring in the mirror because I thought he was coming a little bit like George coming past me and that’s where I looked but I didn’t see the flag.” That’s why later, when you listen to the radio, I asked if there was a yellow flag because I didn’t see one. Yes, that was it.
Victoria Beaver is a nomadic sports journalist who spends her time bouncing between racetracks and hippie farms. She has covered all areas of motorsports, from 410 Sprints to NASCAR to Supercross. Her daily driver is a 2010 Subaru that she has refused to perform even the slightest preventive maintenance on. Instead, she spends her free time and money building a 42-foot skoolie to one day travel around the country full-time.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a71826672/fia-blames-software-error-confusing-end-to-british-grand-prix-hamilton-tharwted-by-safety-car-again/
