Lewis Hamilton compared the end of the Italian Grand Prix to the way he lost the 2021 Formula 1 drivers' title to Max Verstappen at the end of the Abu Dhabi finale.
Last December, the Brit was denied the world title after a late safety car, which the FIA later admitted had not been properly carried out. So when the yellow flags came out in the final few laps of Sunday's race at Monza, it would have brought up a familiar and unpleasant feeling.
Fortunately for Hamilton, he was not involved this time. Charles Leclerc was the unlucky one, stuck behind Verstappen who led the race, and crossed the finish line first with the safety car still out on track – not rushed back into the pits, as it had been last year.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, who was apoplectic after Hamilton was denied last year, said after the race in Italy : "This time, they followed the rules." It was an obvious reference to Abu Dhabi, and an indicator that the Silver Arrows aren't likely to forget that injustice any time soon.
And Hamilton said the same thing as he faced the cameras. "It always brings memories back – that is the rules how it should be, right?" he added. "There's only one time in the history of the sport where they haven't done the rules like that today and that's the one where it changed the result of the championship. But it is what it is."
Having watched his driver denied the chance to race for the win, Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto made his feelings clear as he faced the TV cameras. "The FIA has been caught sleeping, maybe they are not yet ready to deal with these situations," said the angry Italian.
And Leclerc, who sat in Parc Fermé with his head in his hands after climbing out of his car, added: "For the last laps, from my point of view it was clear that I was expecting a restart, but maybe there are things in the background that I don't know and maybe that's why."
Shortly after the conclusion of the race, the FIA released a statement in which it explained the reasoning behind the way the safety car was operated at Monza. "While every effort was made to recover Car #3 quickly and resume racing, the situation developed and marshals were unable to put the car into neutral and push it into the escape road," a spokesperson said.
"As the safety of the recovery operation is our only priority, and the incident was not significant enough to require a red flag, the race ended under safety car following the procedures agreed between the FIA and all competitors. The timing of the safety car period within a race has no bearing on this procedure."
