FIA confusion over Safety Car message rekindles memories of Abu Dhabi 2021

Lewis Hamilton and a last-lap safety car was always going to be a controversial combination.

He remains scared from the fiasco in Abu Dhabi in 2021 where he was denied a record eighth title after a 'human error' saw a misinterpretation of F1's overly complicated rulebook that presented Max Verstappen with a golden opportunity to pass Hamilton on the final lap.
On that occasion, it proved decisive in the outcome of that year's championship and the sport changed forever.


In the months after that race, we were promised a thorougher investigation into what went wrong on that evening. Why had the former Race Director Michael Masi managed to fail to follow the correct procedures?
However, a full report never materialised. Only an edited version that contained little, if any, information on Masi's decision making or whether he had been influenced by the Red Bull Racing pitwall when it came to the timing and actions of the safety car, deployed following a crash by Williams' Nicholas Latifi.


It is relevant, because at a packed out Silverstone, the British GP finished behind a safety car. This time, it denied Hamilton a shot at victory in baffling circumstances.
On the penultimate lap, a messaged was sent from Race Control informing the world and its dog 'safety car in this lap'. Only it didn't. Instead it stayed out for the final lap.
The ramifications being that Hamilton, sat on fresher tyres than George Russell ahead of him, was unable to fight for a potential victory. 


Somewhat ironically, Latifi was DJing at the British GP as he has since called time on his racing career, but the FIA's message had confused and denied this race a grandstand finish.
The FIA released an explanation as to the confusing message in a short statement. It said: "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 'Safety Car In This Lap' message was displayed erroneously due to a software error."

The FIA removed the message as quickly as they could, but it was too late, it had been distributed. A correction was issued and while insiders say that it did not disrupt their own interpretation of the rules, it does raise some concerns about procedures and processes.
This comes after Alpine had successfully reinstated Pierre Gasly's podium in Monaco after appealing against his time penalty for speeding in the pitlane. On this occasion, the errors was due to cutting a corner setting the timing loop out, which is part of F1's mandate.
Nonetheless, the penalties wrong distributed by the Race Stewards, has influenced the race and that cannot simply afford to happen.


F1 is a multi billion dollar business as the sold out hospitality units and record Silverstone attendance will prove, and mistakes, be they human error or "software error" cannot happen.

Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said the fans at the British GP were denied a proper finish to the race. He said: "I am hoping there is a separate reason for not pitting the Safety Car and not just a change of mind, or a mistake, to bring it in. We were all denied a proper end to the Grand Prix.

"When they are half a Silverstone lap away, they are not going to get in the way with one lap to go. You don't have to wait for them all to plod around to the back. Maybe something else happened."
He added: "Whatever the regulations say, it's not right to wait, especially on a long circuit, for the lapped cars to get through. 


"The whole reason that came in was to stop lapped runners getting in the way of a big grandstand finish and it sometimes brings players back in and they are part of the race again, so there's a show element to that as well.

"The regulations say 'if the race director considers it safe for them to do so' and it was safe because it was a dry day and wasn't pouring with rain and there was no debris, 'the message lapped cars may now overtake will be sent to all competitors'.

"It then goes on to say in the many pages of regulations 'having overtaken the F1 cars on the lead lap, the Safety Car will extinguish its lights'.

"It doesn't say they have to be back of the queue. There's nothing to say you have to wait until they have arrived to the back, it just says 'you have to proceed at a reasonable speed'."

The matter is now especially confusing as Mercedes weigh up whether to appeal against Kimi Antonelli's penalty for exceeding track limits as he battled at Silverstone with a defective car.

Plus, a late decision to let Hamilton off with a reprimand, despite a yellow flag infringement, will also serve to raise more questions about how the sport is being governed.