British GP: FIA explains why Silverstone race not resumed on final lap after incorrect Safety Car message displayed
F1's governing body says "'Safety Car In This Lap' message was displayed erroneously" on the penultimate lap of the race and correct procedure was ultimately followed to finish British GP behind Safety Car; Drivers and team bosses have say on race won by Charles Leclerc
Sunday 5 July 2026 20:05, UK
The FIA has explained why the British Grand Prix finished under Safety Car conditions after the display of an "erroneous message" had suggested racing was about to resume for the final lap.
The drivers finished in controlled formation as they crossed the line to take the chequered flag at the end of the final 52nd scheduled lap at Silverstone with Charles Leclerc winning ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Safety Car had been dispatched on lap 48 after Max Verstappen spun out of fourth place at Stowe with his Red Bull beached in the gravel.
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With the field soon bunched to lap behind the pace car while marshals worked to clear stranded Red Bull and ensure the track was safe, it appeared uncertain whether racing would resume before the chequered flag given so few laps remained.
At the start of the penultimate lap, lapped runners were instructed to unlap themselves. The prospect of a grandstand final-lap racing finish then suddenly appeared to emerge half-way around the same lap when the message of 'Race Control: Safety Car in this lap' was displayed.
But that instruction was then swiftly cancelled with the Safety Car instead continuing on to start the final lap, confirming the race would finish in formation with still no overtaking allowed.
Amid post-race confusion from drivers, media and fans, the FIA issued a statement after the race explaining what had happened and why the regulations were ultimately followed correctly.
"The Safety Car period regulation, Article B5. 13.5, states that one lap must be completed following the unlapping procedure," said an FIA statement.
"This process was followed by Race Operations.
"The 'Safety Car In This Lap' message was displayed erroneously due to a software error."
'It's good that the regulations have been followed' - Wolff on Safety Car finish
Sunday was the first time an F1 race had finished behind the full Safety Car since the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, with even race winner Leclerc admitting he would have "wished for a more normal ending" to the race as he took the chequered flag.
The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix infamously did not finish in such a way following an incorrect application of the Safety Car rules at that title-deciding race
Asked how he saw this Sunday's finale at Silverstone, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff - whose then-driver Hamilton lost out on the world title to Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi 2021 on the restarted final lap - said: "I would have preferred for this to happen in 2021! That was more important.
"But it's good that the regulations have been followed. Sometimes it doesn't give for the most exciting final [part of the race], certainly from a spectacle standpoint, everybody would have loved to see Lewis on a soft [tyre] against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc.
"But this is a show for the sport. Show for the sport and not the other way around, so it's good that the FIA did that."
Second-placed Russell, who admitted his good fortune in the the Safety Car's initial appearance after he moved up to second ahead of Hamilton by not pitting for tyres unlike the Ferraris, said: "I mean, of course it's a shame for any race to finish into the Safety Car. But then you go back to Abu Dhabi '21, and that is just how racing goes.
"Nobody can plan for somebody to have an incident, and the way F1 deal with it and FIA deal with it shouldn't be any different at the end of the race compared to the start of the race. Obviously, there was a lot of chat post-Abu Dhabi '21. If you actually look at the number of races that have finished under the Safety Car over the past 20 years, it's not actually a lot. So, as I said, it is a shame, but what can you do? I don't think it should be different."
Hamilton, sitting alongside Russell in the post-race press conference, after finishing third added: "Yeah, same as George said. Not really much more to add.
Formula 1's summer run continues with the Belgian Grand Prix at legendary Spa-Francorchamps on July 17-19, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
