Canadian celebrity Winnie Harlow has received an apology from Ross Brawn after she received grief for waving the chequered flag one lap early. The mistake wasn’t her fault, but she faced plenty of stick.
The full race distance was completed, but the race was reduced by two laps according to the regulations. The last time this happened was in 2014.
“Supermodel Winnie Harlow was an innocent victim at the end of the race,” said Ross Brawn on an interview on planetF1.
“She was asked to wave the chequered flag but was told to do so after 69 laps of the 70 laps had been completed.
“I was sad to see her so heavily criticised when, as race director Charlie Whiting explained, it was all down to a misunderstanding between two officials. Winnie simply following instructions - I want to apologise for the grief she received.”
Whiting confirmed earlier in the week an investigation is well underway to discover the cause of the issue and a way to prevent the issue from happening again.