The British Grand Prix had all the ingredients for a dramatic, edge-of-your-seat finale. Instead, fans were left watching the field crawl to the chequered flag behind the Safety Car – and former F1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer believes race control missed a golden opportunity to turn a late-race twist into a thrilling showdown.
Max Verstappen's race came to an abrupt end on lap 48 of 52 after he became stranded in the gravel at Stowe, triggering a Safety Car intervention that ultimately consumed the remaining laps.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc collected his first victory of the season ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, but the closing stages lacked the wheel-to-wheel climax many had anticipated.
For Szafnauer, the FIA may have followed the letter of the rulebook – but not its spirit when it comes to putting on a spectacle.
Szafnauer: ‘Red flag it for the fans’
Speaking on this week’s High Performance Racing podcast, the former Aston martin and Alpine team principal revealed that he even contacted FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis after the race to challenge the decision.
"I did call the FIA. I talked to Nikolas, and I thought what Nikolas told me was the reason that they did it. And for sure, the FIA followed the current rules, but they have the option to red-flag it,” he explained.
Szafnauer argued that there was nothing preventing race control from stopping the race, clearing Verstappen's stranded Red Bull, and setting up a final sprint to the finish.
"They could have easily red-flagged that race. And when I told him that, he said, 'Red flag it for that?' I said, 'No, red flag it for the fans.'
“And if you red flag it for the fans, you're doing nothing that contravenes the rules. So, if there is a point where if you want to make it exciting at the end and you want to follow the rules, which you should, unlike in 2021, red-flag it."
Last Sunday’s finale inevitably revived memories of Formula 1's most controversial title decider in Abu Dhabi in 2021, but Szafnauer stressed that a red flag would have provided an entirely legitimate solution under the existing regulations, rather than forcing officials into another difficult Safety Car procedure.
Brundle sees better options than another processional finish
Szafnauer was far from alone in questioning how the closing laps unfolded.
Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle also argued that the current Safety Car procedures can work against the leaders – and against the entertainment value of the sport – particularly when lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves late in a race.
"I used to have robust conversations with the very sadly departed Charlie Whiting about this, because it makes no sense especially as the rules state that the safety car will recover to the pits on the lap following allowing lapped runners through. Abu Dhabi 2021, anybody?", Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column.
Rather than accepting another race ending under caution, the former Grand Prix driver outlined several alternatives that Formula 1 could adopt to preserve racing action without sacrificing fairness.
"There are potential fixes. In IndyCar, for example, if it's within the last 10 laps, instead of a wave-by the lapped cars are made to peel off into the pitlane and rejoin at the back of the field," he added.
"Or we could simply have the lapped runners simply drop behind the pack.
"Or throw a red flag and have a standing restart in race order, although this takes a while. Instead, we prioritise runners who haven't been good enough, for whatever reason, on the day, instead of the leaders and most importantly the fans."
Read also: FIA clarifies why British GP ended behind Safety Car
With Silverstone packed to capacity and a tense battle at the front waiting to explode, the race instead fizzled out behind the Safety Car.
The FIA may have applied the regulations correctly, but the debate now raging is whether Formula 1's rulebook should leave more room for common sense when a grandstand finish is within touching distance.
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