Davidson defends safety-car finish at Silverstone, invoking Abu Dhabi 2021 rules row

Anthony Davidson has defended the FIA’s decision to finish the British Grand Prix under safety car conditions at Silverstone, arguing that Formula 1’s sporting regulations cannot be selectively enforced depending on the entertainment value at stake.

The safety car was deployed on lap 48 of 52 after Max Verstappen beached his car in the gravel at Stowe corner. Fans’ hopes of a green-flag finish briefly rose when a message appeared on the broadcast indicating the safety car was set to come in, but it remained out until the chequered flag. The FIA subsequently confirmed the message had been displayed in error, and that insufficient laps remained to complete the full unlapping procedure.

Davidson drew a pointed comparison with the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — a race that ended in its own controversy when the safety car was brought in early, allowing a late restart that cost Lewis Hamilton the world championship. “I think that’s why everyone was unhappy with Abu Dhabi 2021,” he said. “The people who knew the rules knew that regulation because it hasn’t changed since then.”

He challenged fans who had previously demanded strict rule adherence at Abu Dhabi to apply the same standard at Silverstone. “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have this time the Hamilton fans 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 acknowledged the frustration but placed the blame squarely on timing rather than decision-making. “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,” he said. He also noted that some observers had suggested both the 2021 finale and Silverstone should have been resolved with a red flag instead.

On the broader question of races finishing under caution, Davidson was largely sanguine. “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 in time, you’ve got the picture of what was going to happen,” he said, pointing to the frequency of caution-period finishes in American motorsport as a precedent.

Oscar Piastri crossed the line to take victory for McLaren, with the result standing despite the muted finish at Silverstone.