The late-race safety car issues F1 still needs to fix to move on from Abu Dhabi

Who would’ve thought that just nine months after the most controversial ending to a Formula 1 championship since Jerez 1997 some people are still mightily pissed off?

Lewis Hamilton said he was “not angry” about the safety car conclusion to the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, but then went on to reveal that the wound opened by the 2021 Abu Dhabi race ending farce ultimately still festers.

"It always brings memories back,” he continued to Sky Italy. “That is how the rules should be, right? There's only one time in the history of the sport where they haven't done the rules like that and that's the one where it changed the result of the championship. But it is what it is."

For Hamilton, the Abu Dhabi saga will likely always rankle – even as he works to channel his frustration into growth over the rest of his life. So few people are F1 world champions and can ever be, it’s very hard to know just how hard it is have a title ripped from your grip by an officiating shambles.

But other people were angry at Monza. It could be heard in parc ferme and on the podium, where Max Verstappen collected the winner’s trophy – the 2022 title now all but mathematically sealed. As was the case for the Dutchman in Abu Dhabi last year, he didn’t deserve to be caught up in such a furore and once again it doesn’t cheapen his achievements.

The post-race boos in Italy came from a Tifosi livid that the grandstand finish possibility the race seemed briefly set to get had been dashed. That emotional outpouring also likely stemmed from seeing Ferrari being badly beaten on home soil by Verstappen and Red Bull and requiring race-shifting circumstances to provide an unlikely win shot for polesitter and eventual second place finisher Charles Leclerc.

The Tifosi’s frustrations combined with those of many neutral fans watching from afar that had recognised another dull race might just get a sudden twist ending, before a damp squib ending ultimately played out.

Verstappen didn't exactly get a warm reception on the podium from the massed ranks of Ferrari fans disgruntled that the race didn't restart

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

It didn’t happen because the safety period, called when Daniel Ricciardo had to pull over between the Lesmo corners because his “engine just switched off”, lasted from lap 48 to the lap 53 finish. This was despite the teams believing there was more than enough time for the McLaren to be recovered and a restart happen.

Two crucial problems prevented this. One was Ricciardo’s MCL36 being stuck in gear, which was why the Australian hadn’t been able to roll to open access point in the infield barriers. This meant the marshals that soon arrived couldn’t push the car and a recovery tractor had to be sent to crane the car away. Quite rightly given the events of Suzuka 2014, this can only be done in safe and controlled circumstances – the pack held behind the safety car.

But this procedure had been badly delayed by the safety car initially running ahead of the wrong lead driver, as Verstappen and Leclerc had just passed the pit entry when the race was neutralised. It had instead picked up third place runner George Russell, who was then not immediately waved through so a big enough gap in traffic could be created for the tractor to reach and begin work recovering Ricciardo’s car.

The similarity of the events to Abu Dhabi and the frustrations of a grandstand finish teased and then removed reopened a wound not long closed, if it ever was for some – including Hamilton and his Mercedes squad. But there are ways the FIA can heal things

Four laps after the race had been neutralised, Russell’s Mercedes and the rest were finally waved through and Verstappen moved to head the queue. But then all the lapped runners were required to be waved by per the tightened 2022 rules, which of course famously didn’t happen in Abu Dhabi. In that instance, the requirement for racing to begin at the end of the next lap was also not followed, but it would’ve been at Monza. But time simply ran out with proceedings having been set to be followed in full.

The FIA and its F1 race control officials made the right calls at Monza. That might earn commendation, yet it’s simply the basic expectation for the governing body in such circumstances. But the similarity of the events to Abu Dhabi and the frustrations of a grandstand finish teased and then removed reopened a wound not long closed, if it ever was for some – including Hamilton and his Mercedes squad.

But there are ways the FIA can heal things – and the F1 organisation should also pay attention given it is its championship currently being sullied by the ongoing furore. For a start, quick and better explanation of what is occurring in race control would be an easy win.

It’s remarkable the FIA still hasn’t acted to introduce such a step, which in the mind of this writer is an ex-official explaining on TV broadcasts what is going on and why. This is in the same vein as former NFL referees being employed by networks to explain certain calls in another sport with a complex rulebook and fanatical following.

Another, but more fundamental and so more challenging, step would be to change the rules in such circumstances so the race is automatically red flagged and restarted. Think Baku 2021. This suggestion is not universally popular – certainly not across the Autosport editorial department based on the many arguments the press day pitch for this column created. But it has additional upsides worth considering.

Baku 2021 was a strong example of how a late red flag can generate extra excitement, as Hamilton overshot Turn 1 and failed to score

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

For a start, stopping the race creates the safest environment for marshals and competitors. Even behind the safety car, a driver might’ve lost control exiting Lesmo one and spun towards the Ricciardo car recovery with horrendous potential consequences. It also ensures excitement in place of anti-climax. And, perhaps most importantly once the safety grounds have been cleared, it is fair to all competitors.

Yes, it is harsh on drivers that have built race-winning leads such as Verstappen last weekend and Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. But by being able to change tyres with their position preserved surely restores the balance.

The main argument against such a change is that it risks a ‘wrong winner’ scenario where the best driver/car package on the day ultimately loses out. A fine objection, but at the same time F1’s nature is that such a combination would likely win a late-race restart scenario because the advantages that made them the best on that given day remain.

At Monza, this was Red Bull’s low-drag car concept (albeit running with a bigger than expected rear wing for purposes of tyre preservation and so the RB18s were entering the straights quicker and so being on them for less time) allied to Ferrari’s 2022 start inconsistencies. Verstappen therefore would’ve been the heavy favourite to win a restarted race even before his famously robust wheel-to-wheel skills are considered.

It was revealed after the Monza race that such a rule change had even been assessed post-Abu Dhabi but was rejected by the teams. They fear the ‘wrong winner’ potential for all finishing positions, but this ignores the potential to gain in unexpected circumstances. That is still sport, even labelled a gimmick in some quarters.

A late-race restart also risks a pack pile-up and so additional part costs in a time of controlled team spending. But that wasn’t an objection really raised when the Baku race got a late shootout under the cost cap’s first year. The drivers rather seemed to relish it.

One argument vocally put forward in Autosport Towers is that a late race stoppage codified in the rules for such circumstances may cheapen a GP spectacle. This is of course subjective to the individual but is an understandable concern. It is matched to the thinking: ‘sometimes these things just happen’.

But although this is the third instance of a late-race neutralisation/restart scenario in under two complete seasons, it is still rare overall. As Russell, insisting his figures were estimates, put it post-Monza: “we looked at every single race since ’98 and it happened 10 times”.

Its likely that Verstappen would have still won even if the race had been restarted, such as the pace of his Red Bull package

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

An explanation for why these situations are becoming slightly more common is because safety requirements are ever stricter – which is welcome – plus a push from F1’s stakeholders believing “that it's not good to finish races under safety cars”, per Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. But they remain outliers, which makes it harder to agree they should just be accepted when alternatives are available and rules evolution is at F1’s core, even in its very name.

There are even other options worth considering. Examples would be the slow-zones used in the World Endurance Championship or adding time/laps back to a race when safety cars hold up proceedings, which happens in Formula E and the British Touring Car Championship. The latter case is harder to implement in F1 with its fuel-use restrictions, but drivers save fuel under race neutralisations.

It seems F1 and the FIA have a decision to make. Either the championship’s current safety car ending rules are doubled down on and the specific problems that arose at Monza are addressed or a change comes

An automatic red-flag rule would also bring with it risk of cheating – one car stopping or crashing, a la Singapore 2008 and the Renault squad, to benefit a team-mate. Thankfully, this is also a rare scenario and one that is harshly punished. But the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ principle applies – alongside the understanding all competitors and officials must be open to proper scrutiny as befits any open society.

On that note, the FIA should bring back the media sessions conducted by the late Charlie Whiting and Michael Masi, which were canned when Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich were brought in as the latter’s replacements. The argument goes that football referees don’t give interviews post-match, but that is a comparatively simple game and motorsport’s complex nature can lead to, if you’ll pardon the pun, needless own goals. And do so bafflingly regularly.

If the red flag scenario were to be passed, grey areas would need addressing – such as when in a race it becomes a factor, perhaps the final 10 or five laps – and properly explained. And the possibility for a race ending under an effective safety car in the event of a last lap stoppage ahead of battling leaders surely would remain if time/laps can’t be added back on – say as it is in NASCAR. That series also has its own ‘Overtime’ rules akin to what is being discussed here.

After the events of last weekend, it seems F1 and the FIA have a decision to make. Either the championship’s current safety car ending rules are doubled down on and the specific problems that arose at Monza are addressed or a change comes. At least with the latter and the automatic red flag proposal there comes the additional benefit of better healing the Abu Dhabi wound alongside guaranteeing extra exciting racing, which is surely what keeps bringing fans back to motorsport.

Action taken by the FIA may help to put the lingering effects of Abu Dhabi behind it

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images