​Anthony Davidson has defended the decision to bring the British Grand Prix to a close under safety car conditions, insisting that Formula 1 regulations must be observed regardless of the entertainment value. The conclusion at Silverstone elicited mixed reactions from spectators after drivers crossed the finish line behind the safety car. The safety car was deployed on lap 48 of 52 following Max Verstappen getting stuck in the gravel at Stowe corner. As the race dwindled, some fans felt a jolt of optimism when a broadcast message announced that the safety car would be coming in. In spite of that message, the safety car stayed out for the final laps, and the FIA later confirmed that the transmission had been displayed in error; there were not enough laps left to execute the full unlapping procedure.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Davidson dismissed the notion that the finish should have come with a green-flag restart. “I think that’s why everyone was unhappy with Abu Dhabi 2021. The people who knew the rules knew that regulation because it hasn’t changed since then,” he said. “I think that’s what the upset was all about. And back then, obviously, Lewis Hamilton fans and Mercedes fans wanted the lettering that’s laid out in all of the sporting regulations to be adhered to. So, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t have this time the Hamilton supporters saying, ‘Oh, we should have just got the race going again. He was on fresh tyres. He could have overtaken George Russell.’ You were the same people who wanted the rule to be followed to the letter of the law in Abu Dhabi.”
Davidson continued: “So you have to follow the rules. The rules are there for good reason. What was unfortunate is we just ran out of time. It wouldn’t have been a problem if there were 10 laps still remaining. We would have got the race going. It would have been fine. But some people I’ve spoken to said that on both occasions, 2021 and Silverstone, it should have been red-flagged. I think that’s an easy thing to do.”
He elaborated: “Personally, I don’t really have an issue with races finishing under safety car, especially when it’s right at the end of the race, because quite often by that point you’ve got the picture of what was going to happen. How many American races do we see finish under either full caution or safety car? It’s one of those things where it’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Unfortunately, you’re out of time, and it came too late. The race finished under a safety car. I would obviously prefer it to be green, but I don’t really have too many issues with it finishing under a safety car because, by the last couple of laps, you usually know the result.”
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