Confusion reigned in Singapore after marshals appeared to be shown removing Alex Albon’s front wing from the racetrack while the circuit was live.
Albon had made an impressive return at Marina Bay after coming down with appendicitis in Monza, and he out-qualified team-mate, Nicholas Latifi, on Saturday.
The Canadian caused a full Safety Car early on in the race when he took out Zhou Guanyu, for which he has since been given a five-place grid penalty at next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The 27-year-old made it back round to the pits, but he picked up too much damage to his left rear corner, so was forced to retire from the race.
READ: Breaking: Nyck de Vries taken off stand-by as Alex Albon cleared to race
Albon later crashed at Turn Eight, but was able to reverse out of the wall, leaving his front wing wedged in the barrier.
The Thai-Briton was also able to coax his car back round to the pits, but his car had sustained excessive damage, so he too was forced to retire.
The VSC was deployed while the marshals worked on removing the debris and making sure the barrier was intact, but the TV director cut to a peculiar shot.
The graphic on the screen was showing that green flag racing had resumed, but the footage displayed a marshal still trying to yank the front wing away from the wall.
He then ran off the racetrack, and all was well, but multiple fans and reporters picked up on what appeared to be a huge blunder.
READ: Breaking: Nyck de Vries taken off stand-by as Alex Albon cleared to race
The FIA have since confirmed that the footage being displayed was in fact a replay, but the graphic indicating that had not popped up.
Race Control were in the headlines again when they penalised Sergio Perez for a Safety Car infringement, but his five-second penalty did not affect the race result.
The Mexican took victory ahead of Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari team-mate, Carlos Sainz.