Italian GP: Why does the race end after Safety Cars? Interpretation, competitor views and Abu Dhabi comparison

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Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok explains why the Italian Grand Prix ended after Safety Cars and the options available to the FIA ​​in situations like these.

The safety car that finished in the Italian Grand Prix denied a “stand end” between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc on Sunday, with quirky scenes evoking flashbacks of the season’s Abu Dhabi GP title decider previous tournament – and different views from the owners of the Red Bull and Mercedes teams.

With Verstappen currently 116 points ahead of Leclerc and potentially one race away from his second Formula 1 world championship, let’s explain the finale that baffled Ferrari’s home fans. bear and the following comments…

What happened and why were fans rejected for the finale

Verstappen was moving towards a fifth straight win – two points 16 seconds ahead of Leclerc – when Daniel Ricciardo stopped in his McLaren in Round 47 of 53, stopping his car in the middle of Lesmos.

While the yellow flag is immediately waved, there is a slight delay before the Safety Car time is signaled.

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins the Italian Grand Prix as the race finishes behind the Safety Car.

However, Verstappen and Leclerc followed many of their opponents into the hole on the following lap, fitting in soft tires as the teams expected the race to resume shortly for an epic finale.

However, precious time was wasted when the Safety Car sped out in front of George Russell’s car, in third place, not Verstappen. Nor did it initially free Russell and the 11 cars between him and the leader.

Mercedes asked Russell to pass the Safety Car, and despite the British driver’s restraint, there was no green light for him to confidently do so.

Another setback was that the officers couldn’t move Riccardo’s car, and a cherry picker only started restoring it with three laps left.

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Christian Horner admitted that they would have preferred Max Verstappen to win the race under normal racing regulations, rather than being behind the Safety Car.

Soon after, Russell and the other cars were allowed to pass the Safety Car, but Verstappen only reached his required position at the front of the Safety Car row at the end of Round 51/53.

Sky Sports F1’s Karun said: “At this point, it’s clear that there won’t be enough time for all the cars to turn around, join the train, and then drop the overridden cars to finish. finish the race under green flag conditions. Chandhok.

Verstappen and Leclerc were split by two cars – Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas – on the penultimate lap, when Monegasque was told before the final lap that this was how it would end.

That prompted shouts of “come on, clear song” from Leclerc, and boos from the fans. Verstappen was also booed on the podium.

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said it was unfortunate he couldn’t fight to win the last leg, with the race finishing in the back of the Safety Car.

What was said and why Red Bull, Merc disagree

Sunday’s Safety Car finish is a stark contrast to what happened in Abu Dhabi last year, when Race Director Michael Masi put the Safety Car in, allowing the car to run quickly on its own, before Verstappen pounced. take the sitting Hamilton duck to claim a controversial headline.

On this occasion, Race Director Niels Wittich correctly followed the rules, although Christian Horner made it clear after the race that Red Bull wanted the race to restart despite Verstappen’s advantage.

“We don’t want to win a race under the Safety Car,” the team boss told Sky Sports F1. “It’s something we’ve been saying for years, that they should finish the race.

“There was enough time for that race to happen. I think they picked the wrong car, picked Russell.

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Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto was not pleased with the FIA’s implementation of Safety Car regulations in the final leg of the race.

“We have the faster car and we want to win the race on the track, not behind the Safety Car. We share the frustration of all the fans, as it took away. a grand ending.

“It goes against the principles of what we’ve discussed before. The biggest losers are the fans.”

Leclerc said he was “expecting a reboot” but admitted that “there may be things behind” preventing it. However, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto is even tougher than Horner with his words.

He said: “Finishing after a Safety Car has never been a great thing, not for us, but for F1 and the show. “I think it’s time for the FIA ​​to act differently today.

“The Safety Car came in front of George but even so, I think there’s no reason not to drop the car between the Safety Car and the leader. If we were simply waiting for the safety, we know that by now. now has a minimum lap time, so it’s completely safe to run.

“To wait too long, it is simply wrong and not good for the sport. After Abu Dhabi last year, we had a long discussion about the sport because the end goal is to try to warm up. safely back to the race and I think today we were able to.

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said his drivers’ third and fifth place results were the best they could hope for at the Italian Grand Prix.

“The FIA ​​has changed a lot in that area, but I still think they need more experience and they need to do better, because F1 deserves it.”

Toto Wolff, who was furious after last year’s loss to Abu Dhabi, gave a blunt response – saying “this time” the rules were being followed correctly.

“Race directors are always criticized but I think this time they followed the rules – maybe they could have done it a lap earlier – and they accepted the race finished under the Safety Car.

“This is how it should be.”

FIA explanation and how it could end

Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz revealed the explanation from the FIA ​​afterwards.

“They said the officers couldn’t push it, they had hoped to restore the car faster but doing that all took time,” he reported.

“They also said it was important to rearrange the cars to allow the police space to recover Ricciardo’s vehicle.

“If there’s a question, it’s about the lost Lap 50, why wasn’t the green light shown sooner to Russell, especially when his Mercedes team said they thought he could come through. “

Chandhok agreed that “procedurally, the Race Directors did everything right… they followed the rule book, no question about it” – but offered a possible alternative scenario. give better results.

“My personal view is that based on what happened in Abu Dhabi, if we crash in the last five laps it becomes an automatic red flag with a standing start,” he said. speak. “I think for all of us, it was a bit of an unpleasant ending.”

Ted, meanwhile, concluded: “The race director played it consistently? Yes. Could he be faster? Yes.

“But is that the right result the way Abu Dhabi is? Right.”