Former Formulation 1 workforce principal Otmar Szafnauer has argued that the FIA missed a chief alternative to ship a spectacular end to the British Grand Prix, insisting the race ought to have been red-flagged following Max Verstappen’s late retirement.
The Silverstone race ended behind the security automotive. Charles Leclerc secured a much-needed victory, his first of the season, taking the chequered flag forward of Mercedes’ George Russell and his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The security automotive was deployed on lap 48 of 52 after Verstappen grew to become beached within the gravel at Stowe nook. Whereas race management adopted the rules relating to the unlapping process, it left inadequate time to renew racing, denying the sell-out British crowd a grandstand end.
Talking on the Excessive Efficiency Racing podcast alongside broadcaster Jake Humphrey and former F1 race engineer Rob Smedley, Szafnauer argued that the FIA might have red-flagged the race to make sure an thrilling end whereas nonetheless abiding by the rules.
FIA Security Automobile
Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Pictures through Getty Pictures
“I did name the FIA. I talked to Nikolas [Tombazis], and I assumed what Nikolas informed me was the explanation that they did it. And for certain, the FIA adopted the present guidelines, however they’ve the choice to red-flag it,” the previous Alpine chief defined.
“They might have simply red-flagged that race. And after I informed him that, he mentioned, ‘Purple flag it for that?’ I mentioned, ‘No, pink flag it for the followers.’ And should you pink flag it for the followers, you are doing nothing that contravenes the foundations. So, there’s a level the place if you wish to make it thrilling on the finish and also you need to observe the foundations, which you need to, in contrast to in 2021, red-flag it.”
The tenth spherical of the 2026 season will happen at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix from 17-19 July.
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