The FIA has blamed a software error for the incorrect Safety Car message that briefly suggested the 2026 British Grand Prix would restart for a final-lap shootout at Silverstone.
Charles Leclerc’s victory had already made Ferrari’s weekend, but the argument after the flag centred on race control rather than the podium. Max Verstappen’s late crash at Stowe triggered the Safety Car, with lapped cars then allowed through before the final tour.
The flashpoint came when the timing feed displayed “Safety Car In This Lap” on the penultimate lap. That pointed towards a restart, only for the Safety Car to remain out and lead the field to the chequered flag. Motorsport.com reported the FIA’s explanation that the message was shown in error, while the governing body said the required procedure had still been followed.
Why Silverstone finished under the Safety Car
The FIA’s position is that Article B5.13.5 required one full lap to be completed after the unlapping procedure. Once those cars had cleared the Safety Car train, the remaining lap was already the final lap of the British Grand Prix.
That left Leclerc to win from George Russell and Lewis Hamilton without a racing restart, despite Ferrari preparing for one by putting fresh soft tyres on its cars. For a championship still shaped by late-race control controversies, the distinction matters: the FIA says the message was wrong, but the finish was by the book.
