Former Formula 1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer has argued that the FIA missed a prime opportunity to deliver a spectacular finish to the British Grand Prix, insisting the race should have been red-flagged following Max Verstappen’s late retirement.
The Silverstone race ended behind the safety car. Charles Leclerc secured a much-needed victory, his first of the season, taking the chequered flag ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The safety car was deployed on lap 48 of 52 after Verstappen became beached in the gravel at Stowe corner. While race control followed the regulations regarding the unlapping procedure, it left insufficient time to resume racing, denying the sell-out British crowd a grandstand finish.
Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast alongside broadcaster Jake Humphrey and former F1 race engineer Rob Smedley, Szafnauer argued that the FIA could have red-flagged the race to ensure an exciting finish while still abiding by the regulations.
FIA Safety Car
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
“I did call the FIA. I talked to Nikolas [Tombazis], 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,” the former Alpine chief explained.
“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, 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.”
The 10th round of the 2026 season will take place at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix from 17-19 July.
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