The FIA has explained why the Formula 1 British Grand Prix ended under a Safety Car after a software error caused confusion.
Max Verstappen crashed out of the British Grand Prix on lap 48 of 52, bringing out the Safety Car. Charles Leclerc lead from teammate Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell inheriting P3 from Verstappen after his DNF. Hamilton pitted, allowing Russell into P2, and fans were hoping for a last-lap showdown for positions with the field bunched together.
Race control allowed lapped cars to pass the safety car and unlap themselves, as is standard to reduce interference from back markers in the restart. However, the Safety Car period regulation, Article B5. 13.5, states that one lap must be completed following the unlapping procedure. This process was followed by Race Operations, the FIA stated.
Unfortunately, the one lap that needed to be completed following the unlapping procedure was lap 52 of 52.
‘Safety Car In This Lap’ message was software error in F1 British GP
Fans and teams were anticipating a final racing lap, because the “Safety Car In This Lap” message was erroneously displayed due to a software error. Racing was never going to resume in this scenario due to how late in the race Verstappen’s unfortunate crash was. But the accidental message gave false hope of last-minute battles and created a lot of confusion amongst fans.
Whilst some drivers, namely Lewis Hamilton, lost out on positions with the safety car, others got away easier. George Russell’s tyres were significantly older than those of the cars behind him. Meaning his P2 would have been under threat had the race not ended the way it did. Race winner Leclerc was also on older tyres, and lost the large gap that he had built up over an impressive race for the Ferrari driver.
It was an anti-climactic ending to what had been an action-filled race. Not helped by the Safety Car message confusion, despite procedures being correctly followed.
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