Toto Wolff delivers Abu Dhabi 2021 gibe in F1 safety car defence

Toto Wolff has defended the FIA's decision to end the British Grand Prix behind the safety car on Sunday, drawing a comparison to the controversial Abu Dhabi race in 2021.

Max Verstappen spun off the road late on at Silverstone, prompting race control to release the safety car to bunch up the field.

On the penultimate lap, the lapped cars were given permission to unlap themselves before the 'safety car ending' message appeared on the screen.

However, the FIA has communicated that the message was displayed due to a software error, stating it followed its regulations by allowing one lap to pass after the unlapping procedure was announced.

The situation generated flashbacks to the controversial finale in Abu Dhabi five years ago, when Lewis Hamilton was beaten to the title on the last lap by Verstappen following a debatable safety car restart.

"I would have preferred for this to happen in 2021," Wolff smiled to media including RacingNews365. "That was more important.”

The decision to leave the safety car out at Silverstone benefited Mercedes on this occasion, as it prevented George Russell from coming under attack from Hamilton on fresher tyres.

Wolff praised the decision to end the race in that manner, adding: “It's good that ​the regulations have been followed. Sometimes it doesn't give for the most exciting finale. 

“Certainly from a spectacle standpoint, ​everybody would have loved to see Lewis on a soft [tyre] against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc.

"But this is ‌a sport. ⁠The show follows sport and not the other way around. So it's good that the FIA made that call."