The FIA’s decision during the recent British Grand Prix has stirred controversy, after former Alpine chief Otmar Szafnauer argued that a golden opportunity was missed to offer an exciting finish at the Silverstone circuit.
The course of the race was altered by the sudden retirement of Max Verstappen in the closing laps, which resulted in the deployment of the safety car in the last four laps of the competition. Charles Leclerc from Ferrari achieved victory, his first of the season, followed by George Russell from Mercedes and his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
After Verstappen’s retirement, the FIA followed the established protocol for deactivating lapped laps, which left little margin to resume the competition. Szafnauer expressed his frustration by stating that the FIA should have interrupted the race with a red flag to guarantee a spectacular finish, benefiting the fans.
In an interview on the podcast High Performance Racing, Szafnauer clarified that, while he acknowledged the FIA followed the current rules, he argued that there is the possibility of red-flagging to satisfy the spectators. ‘If you do it for the fans, you are not contravening the rules,’ he pointed out.
With this controversy, the FIA is under increasing pressure to reconsider its guidelines on safety cars, an issue that could have repercussions for future races. The next event on the calendar will be the Belgian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place between July 17 and July 19.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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