NASCAR solution suggested as F1 safety car finish fix before crunch meeting

Liam Lawson has proposed a potential solution to avoid Formula 1 safety car finishes after the controversial ending to the British Grand Prix. 

A potentially exciting end to the race at Silverstone concluded in anticlimactic fashion when it finished under safety car conditions after Max Verstappen became beached in the gravel at Stowe corner in the closing stages. 

While race control ultimately followed the correct safety car procedures, unlike at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the outcome left fans and drivers disappointed, with boos heard coming from the grandstands. 

Racing Bulls driver Lawson suggested that F1 could follow a similar rule to NASCAR’s green-white-checker (GWC) or ‘overtime finish’. This procedure sees the race restarted following a caution period with two laps remaining to ensure it finishes under green-flag conditions. 

F1 regulations do not currently allow for laps being added to the end of grands prix due to strict rules surrounding fuel limits and broadcast contracts. But Lawson reckons it is something that could be considered going forward. 

“In NASCAR they always do one more lap, I don’t know if we could do that. Obviously we have fuel levels and stuff like that to manage,” Lawson said ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. “It’s a shame to end a race like that under safety car. If there’s a way that we don’t do that, I think that would be great.” 

Charles Leclerc, who was the biggest benefactor of the safety car finish as it secured his first victory of the season for Ferrari, had few complaints about the outcome. 

“I was very happy about the ending in Silverstone,” Leclerc said, laughing. “But I think most of the people will argue that it's not a nice way to finish a Formula 1 race.

“Safety needs to be the most important thing in those moments. And I feel like there will always be some people unhappy about the way something is managed. Then it's true that it's always a shame to finish a race under safety car. 

“I didn't understand fully why. I think there was a rule that says that once the cars are unlapped, you need to wait one more lap. And this is maybe something we can look into, whether it will have changed significantly. I'm sure there will be plenty of scenarios where it's just not quick enough to recover a car and then you end the race under safety car. 

“I think the right thing is the safest thing to do, no matter how it is for the show.” 

Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had been on course to catch Leclerc before suffering mechanical trouble that ruined his race, argued there is no perfect solution to please everyone. 

“If the rules are like this and they are respected, then it’s all good,” he said.“For sure there will be times where the race will restart, times where the race won’t restart, like what happened at Silverstone. 

“These are the rules and there will always be someone is happy and someone that is unhappy. You can’t make everyone happy at the same time, all the time. If these are the rules, we live with it. If we are not happy we just suck it up and move onto the next one.” 

The fallout from Silverstone is set to be discussed by F1 drivers on the eve of the this weekend’s race at Spa-Francorchamps. 

“I'm sure we're going to discuss it with the drivers at the drivers' meeting tonight, trying to find a way to make these decisions more quickly, or just allowing the race director a more efficient way to restart the race, just to avoid this situation,” Pierre Gasly revealed. 

"I'm sure they're not happy with it, and I think, on my side as a racer, if you ask me, 'Do you want to race for one more lap and get a chance to make up a few more positions?', I'll always be happy to do it. That's the way I see racing."