Have we learned nothing from Abu Dhabi 2021?

The FIA’s decision to end last weekend’s British Grand Prix under safety car conditions has been criticised by drivers, fans and journalists.

Have we learned nothing from Abu Dhabi 2021? Those complaining should be careful what they wish for…

In defence of the FIA after British Grand Prix ended under safety car

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A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2026 British Grand Prix

You cannot have it both ways.

You cannot spend the last five years complaining about one of the greatest scandals in the history of sport caused by a governing body failing to follow its own rules… and then complain when it does.

Half a decade after Abu Dhabi 2021, you might have thought that Article B5.13.5 b) of Formula 1’s sporting regulations would be the most famous rule in motor racing by now, but apparently not.

“Once the message ‘LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE’ has been sent to all competitors,” it reads, “the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap.”

And because the ‘lapped cars’ message only arrived at the start of Lap 51 of 52 at Silverstone, that was it. Race over.

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Could the message for lapped cars to overtake have arrived, say, 20 seconds earlier? Towards the end of Lap 50, so at least there would have been one lap of racing at the end?

Could the whole process of swatting the lapped cars out of the way, and getting the safety car procedure over and done with, be sped up generally?

Potentially. But that’s not the point.

The decision not to restart the British Grand Prix was correct based on the rules as they are written – however poorly they might be written or however frustrating they may be.

In truth, the way this race ended should have been how the 2021 season finished too.

The point is that all of us – spectators, reporters, competitors – should think very carefully about what exactly we want before criticising this decision.

Because it is precisely the misguided belief that a race must never, ever finish behind a safety car that resulted in the abomination of Abu Dhabi.

And if you insist on races finishing under green flag conditions no matter what, without a strong race director you will end up with more Abu Dhabis and more rules being overridden on a whim.

Or – worse – red flags cynically being thrown for relatively minor incidents just because they occur within sight of the chequered flag and create an opportunity for a grandstand finish.

The line between sport and entertainment in professional sport – or at least a professional sport with aspirations of being taken seriously – must always be tiptoed with the utmost care.

Even setting aside the added safety concerns of these 2026 cars deploying and harvesting in an all-or-nothing sprint to the finish, the risk dial turned up to 11, there is a rank unfairness to a race being restarted so late in the day too.

It would not have sat comfortably had Charles Leclerc, a deserving winner of the British Grand Prix, seen his victory hijacked on the final lap.

Just as it has never sat right that Lewis Hamilton had an eighth world championship taken from right under his nose in 2021.

Like politicians, the minimum you can ask of a referee is competence.

Good old boring competence.

Someone prepared to do the right thing – the fair thing – rather than the most popular thing, or the thing that leads to the most thrilling outcome.

Ultimately, incompetence is how Formula 1 created a terrible mess for itself back in Abu Dhabi.

If the memo was missed and competence is now a crime, lock up the race director and throw away the key.

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