A record-breaking Silverstone crowd sparked an unfortunate end to Sunday’s British Grand Prix which ended behind the safety car amid a “software error”.
Charles Leclerc took his first win in nearly two years for Ferrari, with George Russell second and Lewis Hamilton completing the field. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli failed to score points after damaging his Mercedes.
Advertisement
The safety car was in place for four laps after Max Verstappen pitted from third.
The field appeared to be about to end in one round as the message was conveyed that this car would have entered at the end of 51 of the 52 races.
Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Charles Leclerc after the British Grand Prix (David Davies/PA)
However, it was sent by the governing FIA in error – because the unclad cars were not fully finished – and the grandstand was destroyed.
The 175,000 crowd roared as they felt they had been denied a potentially exciting finish, with home favorites Russell and Hamilton, on new tyres, both chasing victory.
An FIA spokesman said the “safety car” message was “inadvertently displayed due to a software error”.
Advertisement
It is understood that the automated note was loaded into the system and sent by mistake. An investigation has been launched by the FIA to understand how it happened.
Safety car controls were tightened after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where Hamilton lost his eighth crown to Verstappen when race director Michael Masi failed to follow the rulebook. Here, the regulation has been applied correctly.
However, this decision did not sit well with the Silverstone spectators who jeered when the cars crossed the line.
Sky F1’s respected pundit Martin Brundle commented: “Have you got a dehydrator? I’m going to need it soon. We’ve all been denied a proper finish in a Grand Prix.”
Advertisement
In the end, Russell was the biggest winner of all. He kept running until he reached seventh place after a puncture in the right rear.
But he used Verstappen’s crash and Antonelli’s failure – as well as Hamilton and Lando Norris (who finished fourth) to fit new tires under the safety car – to take an unexpected second.
He is now 25 points adrift of Antonelli after his Mercedes team-mate fractured his left knee while racing at Copse when he was about to finish second to Leclerc. Antonelli crossed the line in ninth place but was penalized for exceeding the track limit and was relegated to 16th place.
“Yes, it’s a shame in any race to finish under the safety car,” said Russell. “But then he returns to Abu Dhabi in 2021, and that’s how the race goes.
It was a good day for Mercedes’ George Russell, who finished second (Matthew Vincent/PA)
“The way F1 and the FIA deal with each other at the end of a race should not be different compared to the beginning. If you look at the number of races that have finished behind the safety car in the last 20 years, it’s not many. It’s a shame. But what can you do?”
Advertisement
Hamilton started third and finished in the same position after incurring a five-second penalty for jumping the start before losing out to Russell when he changed tires in the closing stages.
“The team asked me to stop, and I thought I would be holding the position,” explained Hamilton who was losing. “If they had told me that I would lose my position, I would not have done it.
After the race, Hamilton was sent to stewards for failing to lower a single yellow flag when Nico Hulkenberg crashed on lap 39.
However, Hamilton escaped criticism and, despite Ferrari’s strategy, is now 32 points behind Antonelli who started the race home with 47 points.
