Max Verstappen claimed his fifth consecutive victory last weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, which was incredibly his first ever victory at the ‘Temple of Speed’.
The Dutchman cruised across the line to an array of boos from the Tifosi, after the final six laps of the race at Monza were completed behind the Safety Car.
A Safety Car was released on Lap 47/53, after Daniel Ricciardo stopped on the inside of the circuit between the two Lesmos.
What would’ve usually been an easy situation for the marshals, quickly turned into a challenge, after Ricciardo’s MCL36 was stuck in gear, meaning a tractor was needed to lift the McLaren to safety.
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This further lengthened the need of the Safety Car, with Ricciardo’s car having only been cleared with one lap remaining.
Race director Niels Wittich, therefore, followed the rulebook to a tee, by completing the final lap behind the Safety Car.
Wittich has come under fire from both fans and some team bosses following the conclusion of the race, despite having followed the rules unlike Michael Masi at the 2021 season finale.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is one of those who made their feelings public, by explaining that he felt there was “enough time” for the race to be resumed.
“They had more than enough time to get that going,” said Horner.
“They picked up the wrong car, they had to let all those cars catch up again. We need to go through the details.
“For me, there was more than enough time to get that race going again with a car that wasn’t even in a barrier. It was parked at the side of the track.”
Toto Wolff and Sir Lewis Hamilton both praised Wittich for following the rulebook, something which should arguably be praised rather than ridiculed.
Wolff has suggested that the rulebook could be changed to allow the race to be stopped so that a race can always finish under a green flag, whereas Hamilton has suggested his own possibility to fix the issue.
“In situations like this they should just extend the race,” the seven-time World Champion suggested over his team radio.
The 37-year-old suggested that the sport adds extra laps onto the end of a Grand Prix to make up for the stoppage in full racing, similar to what happens in Formula E and the British Touring Car Championship.
In Formula E, time gets added to the end of the race depending on the duration spent behind a Safety Car, whereas in the BTCC they add extra laps to the end of the race.
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“I mean, what’s the harm in extending it?” Hamilton said to Racefans.
“Naturally, as a racer, you want more time. I wanted to be able to challenge the Ferrari ahead of me and see if I could get another position.
“But I think in hindsight it was probably a good ending. I’m really grateful to have come back from the last row.”