McLaren furious after bizarre Ferrari trick at Silverstone - Throwback

The 1998 British Grand Prix stands as one of the most controversial races in F1 history, not simply because Michael Schumacher and Ferrari won, but because of the extraordinary manner in which they did so.

A late penalty, a shrewd interpretation of the regulations and a finish line crossed whilst officially serving a sanction combined to produce complete pandemonium, McLaren protests and, ultimately, changes to the FIA's own rulebook.

The weekend opened as so many had that season: McLaren and Mika Häkkinen were the favourites, with Schumacher and Ferrari looking to limit the damage in the title fight.

Schumacher qualified second, but rain transformed the race into a strategic battle. Ferrari chose their tyre stop windows carefully at every turn and remained firmly in Häkkinen's wheel tracks throughout.

A late safety car period appeared to leave McLaren on course for victory, until Häkkinen ran wide at Stowe. Schumacher seized the lead and seemed bound for the win.

Then came the controversy.

Schumacher had been handed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for allegedly overtaking Alexander Wurz under an earlier safety car period.

The penalty, however, was communicated to Ferrari extremely late, and the messaging was far from clear. Within the team, there was genuine uncertainty about the exact nature of the sanction and precisely when it needed to be served.

With one lap remaining, Ferrari arrived at an audacious solution. Schumacher drove into the pit lane at the end of the final lap to serve his penalty.

Because the finish line at Silverstone was positioned before the Ferrari pit box, he crossed it as the race leader before pulling up to his mechanics. The television pictures that followed created absolute chaos, and McLaren lodged a protest immediately.

McLaren protest

The post-race argument centred on whether Schumacher had served the penalty in accordance with the regulations. Ferrari, however, pointed the finger squarely at the race stewards.

The penalty had been issued outside the permitted time window, and the official notification had been insufficiently clear.

The FIA concluded that correct procedure had not been followed, cancelled the penalty and allowed Schumacher's victory to stand.

The fallout was considerable. McLaren felt aggrieved, whilst Ferrari maintained it had done nothing more than make proper use of the rules as they stood.

The three FIA stewards involved ultimately stepped down from their positions, and the governing body revised its procedures.

The regulations governing the issuing and communication of penalties were tightened to ensure no driver could ever again cross the finish line as the apparent race winner whilst officially in the process of serving a sanction.