Martin Brundle Slams British GP Safety Car Finish

Martin Brundle sharply criticised the British GP 2026 finish after the Silverstone race ended behind the safety car despite a message indicating that it would come in on the final lap.

The confusion followed Max Verstappen’s off at Stowe, which triggered a late safety car. The “Safety Car In This Lap” message appeared and created the expectation of one final racing lap, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton on soft tyres while George Russell held second on mediums.

However, the safety car did not come in and Leclerc led the neutralised field across the line to claim his first victory of the season. After the race, the FIA explained that the message had been displayed erroneously due to a software error, while race operations had followed the regulation requiring one lap to be completed after the unlapping procedure.

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“The Safety Car period regulation, Article B5.13.5, states that one lap must be completed following the unlapping procedure. This process was followed by Race Operations,” the FIA said.

“The ‘Safety Car In This Lap’ message was displayed erroneously due to a software error.”

Before that clarification was issued, Brundle argued that the procedure was not suitable for long circuits. He highlighted that the unlapping rule was intended to stop lapped runners interfering with a restart, but in this case it prolonged the safety car period and removed the chance of a competitive finish.

“Whatever the regulations say, it’s not right, to wait, especially on long circuits. Somewhere like Spa, it takes forever to wait for the lapped cars to get through,” Brundle said.

“They should either drop back, or I mean, they were half a lap away. The whole reason that came in, as I said in commentary, was to stop lapped runners getting in the way of a big grandstand finish. That’s what that was all about.”

Brundle also argued that the rules should be changed if their application deprives spectators of a racing finish. In his view, the process for managing lapped cars needs to become more efficient, particularly on longer tracks, so safety car periods do not last longer than necessary.

“Whatever the regulations say, they’ve got to say something different soon.”

“We’re here. We’ve got a fantastic crowd. All the people sitting and watching at home on their devices, TV or online, or whatever, and they deserve a finish to the race. That was the whole point of some of these regulations.”

Brundle’s criticism puts the post-British GP 2026 focus on the interaction between race-control software, unlapping procedure, and the need to preserve the integrity of a race finish. With the FIA acknowledging an erroneous system message, the next question is whether the safety car regulations require adjustment to prevent similar confusion in future rounds.