Charles Leclerc admitted he still isn’t sure why the British Grand Prix had to end behind the Safety Car when he won the race two weeks ago.
However the Ferrari driver said he was “very happy” about the call which sealed his first victory since 2024.
“I was very happy about the ending at Silverstone, but I think most people will argue that it’s not a nice way to finish a Formula 1 race,” said Leclerc.
The Safety Car was deployed after Max Verstappen spun into the gravel trap at Stowe late in the race. Although television graphics during the race broadcast indicated the race would be restarted on the final lap, the Safety Car remained on the track until the chequered flag fell. The FIA later confirmed Race Control followed the correct procedure under the rules.
“Safety needs to be the most important thing in those moments,” said Leclerc. “I feel like there will always be some people unhappy about the way something is managed.
“It’s true that it’s always a shame to finish a race under the Safety Car. I didn’t fully understand why. I think there was a rule that says that once the cars are unlapped, you need to wait one more lap. This is maybe something we can look into.”
However Leclerc isn’t convinced a different decision would have changed the outcome of the race and stressed F1 must ensure it follows the correct safety procedures.
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“Whether it would have changed [anything] significantly, I’m sure there will be plenty of scenarios where it just [cannot be done] quick enough, to recover a car, then you end the race under the Safety Car. I think the right thing is the safest thing to do, no matter how it is for the show.”
Other series such as NASCAR go to greater lengths to reduce the chances of races finishing under Safety Car conditions, including by extending races. However as F1 teams run their cars so tight to the fuel limit, and F1 tracks tend to be much longer than NASCAR’s, it would be difficult for the world championship to adopt a similar rule.
“In NASCAR they can’t finish under the Safety Car, or they always do one more lap,” Liam Lawson noted. “They pause or something like that with a lap to go, or they just add a lap. I don’t know if we could do that.
“Obviously, we have fuel levels and stuff like that to manage. But it’s a shame to end a race like that under Safety Car. I think if there’s a way that we don’t do that, that would be great.”
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