FIA explains lack of race restart at end of British Grand Prix

The FIA says a software error made it appear that there would be a late race restart at the British Grand Prix, with protocol followed that saw the race end under a safety car.

Max Verstappen’s crash on lap 48 of the 52-lap race required a safety car that triggered a number of pit stops, with drivers taking on soft tires for a potential short sprint to the flag. However, when the message was given to lapped cars that they could overtake the safety car – a move designed to re-organize the field into its order without lapped cars in between – it was two seconds after Charles Leclerc had crossed the finish line to start the penultimate lap.

The 2026 Sporting Regulations state: “Unless the race director considers the presence of the safety car remains necessary, once the message ‘LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE’ has been sent to all competitors in accordance with Article B5.13.4c, the Safety Car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap.”

Given Leclerc was already on the penultimate lap, that article means the following lap was the final lap, and the safety car would return to the pits at the end of the final lap, preventing a restart.

There was confusion because race control then sent the message to the teams “Safety Car In This Lap” halfway round the penultimate lap, but then reversed that message to read “Safety Car Deployed” soon afterwards.

The FIA says the process in the Sporting Regulations was followed, and that “the ‘Safety Car In This Lap’ message was displayed erroneously due to a software error.”

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur described it as “a bit of a mess, the last couple of laps” due to the mixed messages, as Ferrari had made a pit stop with Lewis Hamilton expecting a race resumption.

“If you don’t pit and [George] Russell pits and he’s on new softs and we’re on old hards at the restart… we were just surprised that the race didn’t restart," Vasseur said. "But it is what it is.”