Mercedes chief Toto Wolff made an obvious reference to the controversial ending to last season's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he defended the race director's actions in a similar scenario at Monza on Sunday.
Ferrari were left fuming as the Italian Grand Prix finished behind a safety car, following a mechanical issue for Daniel Ricciardo. They felt it should have been lifted a lap earlier, and Charles Leclerc given the chance to have a go at race leader Max Verstappen on the final lap.
For the Dutchman, it was role reversal as he found himself in front with a rival snapping at his heels. But he again the beneficiary as current race director Niels Wittich this time decided not to rush the ending of the safety car period.
Some felt the FIA could have moved quicker to get the race going again, but Wolff believes the right call was made on this occasion. "The race direction is always going to be under critics but this time, they followed the rules," he said after the race.
"Maybe they could have done it a lap earlier or let George through but at least they followed the rules and they accepted that the race finishes under the safety car. And this is how it should be, and should have been [in Abu Dhabi]."
Red Bull chief Christian Horner admitted he would have preferred to have seen the race restart. And Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto was furious, accusing the FIA of being "caught sleeping" and suggested: "Maybe they are not yet ready to deal with these situations".
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."
As well as denying Ferrari the chance to win in front of their home fans, it also saw Verstappen gain another handful of points on Leclerc in the drivers' standings. Mathematically, it is possible for him to be crowned world champion again next time out in Singapore, with a remarkable five races remaining after that.
