FIA explains Canadian GP chequered flag incident
Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting says a miscommunication between local officials led to the chequered flag being shown one lap early in the Canadian Grand Prix.











The official on the start/finish stand, who carries the title of starter, thought race leader Sebastian Vettel was on his 70th and final lap, and mistakenly asked model Winnie Harlow to wave the flag when the Ferrari driver was actually completing his 69th lap.
Drivers continued to race for the extra lap, despite the fact that at some points on the track marshals were waving multiple flags in the traditional end of race salute.
The situation was treated in the same way as a red flag, and after initially being listed at lap 69 the final result subsequently went back to lap 68. There were no place changes in the top 10, although Daniel Ricciardo lost his fastest lap to Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen.
"The chequered flag was shown a lap early because of a miscommunication with the guy that they call the starter here, who starts and finishes the races," said Whiting.
"He thought it was the last lap, he asked race control to confirm it, they confirmed it, but they thought he was making a statement when he was asking a question.
"He just showed it a lap early, or he told the flag waver to show it a lap early, so it wasn't anything to do with the fact that it was a celebrity flag waver."
Whiting believes that the starter was misled by the TV graphic that notes the lap that the leader is on, rather than laps completed – which is what happened in a similar situation in China a few years ago.
"I think people who don't work in F1 are sometimes a little confused by the graphic that they see on the screen where it says 69 out of 70," he said.
"We all know that means we're on lap 69, but to someone who let's say is more casual observer thinks 'Oh, this must mean it's the last lap.'
"I think that's where the doubt originates. Obviously we need to do a better job of briefing these people.
"Just a simple miscommunication, a very regrettable one of course.
"You're dealing with a lot of human beings, different countries, different languages, and it's not always absolutely perfect.
"Of course we strive for perfection. Fortunately there was no real harm done, insofar as it didn't affect the result of the race."
Teams told to race on
Whiting said when teams asked what they should do after the flag was shown, he told them to race to the end of lap 70.
"It was very clear what had happened," he said.
"Under those circumstances, very few team managers would be absolutely sure that they could tell their driver to back off because that was that.
"My advice to anyone who asked was that they should just complete the race, to be sure."
Whiting acknowledged the situation was further complicated by marshals around the track believing that the race was over.
"This is part of the confusion. Sometimes marshals wave all their flags to congratulate the winner, and some of them were doing that, because they thought the race had finished too," he said.
"Presumably they'd been told that the chequered flag had been shown. But the fact that it had been shown early, they didn't know that of course.
"If all the marshals had started coming on the track when the guys were still racing, which is what I believe happened somewhere else in the past, that's something that if this ever happens again we need to make sure we can take care of that."

Renault: Red Bull risks losing new engine offer
Canadian Grand Prix driver ratings

Latest news
Why Red Bull can win a Spanish GP that looked perfect for Ferrari
Formula 1's return to Spain on Friday ended with Ferrari leading the way from Mercedes, while Red Bull could only manage third fastest overall courtesy of Max Verstappen. But its chances of victory are far from remote with a deeper dig into the times despite Ferrari's strong start...
The key aspects of Porsche and Audi's planned F1 entries
The VW Group’s German superpowers of sportscar racing have all but confirmed they are coming to F1 when the next set of engine rules come into force in 2026. Here's why both manufacturers are all set to take the plunge, and crucially how it might work
How Vegas went from byword for F1 indifference to grand Liberty coup
Holding a race in Las Vegas – party central, a city of dreams and decadence and, yes, more than a smattering of tackiness – has been on Liberty Media’s most-wanted list since it acquired Formula 1’s commercial rights. But, as LUKE SMITH explains, F1 has been here before and the relationship didn’t work out
Why de Vries' FP1 outing could add a new path to his current crossroads
A Formula 2 and Formula E champion, Nyck de Vries is currently considering where his future in motorsport lies. Continuing in WEC and Formula E is possible and he's also courted glances Stateside after impressing in an IndyCar test. But ahead of his Formula 1 FP1 debut with Williams, he could have another option if he impresses...
Why Leclerc's crash shouldn't put off F1 drivers tasting history
OPINION: For a demo run ahead of Monaco's Historique Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc was blessed with the opportunity to drive Niki Lauda's former Ferrari 312B3 - but a brake failure at Rascasse suggested Leclerc's Monaco hoodoo transcended contemporary F1. Although an awkward incident, Leclerc deserves credit for embracing F1's history.
Why the lack of "needle" between Red Bull and Ferrari is a mirage
OPINION: The fight for the 2022 Formula 1 world titles between Red Bull and Ferrari so far features little of the public animosity that developed between the former and Mercedes last year. But that isn’t to say things are full on friendly or won’t get much worse very quickly…
The underdog F1 squad that thrust Senna into the limelight
The Toleman TG184 was the car that could, according to legend, have given Ayrton Senna his first F1 win but for Alain Prost and Jacky Ickx at Monaco in 1984. That could be stretching the boundaries of the truth a little, but as STUART CODLING explains, the team's greatest legacy was in giving the Brazilian prodigy passed over by bigger outfits an opportunity
Why Aston Martin is unlikely to repeat Jaguar’s F1 mistakes
Two famous manufacturer teams born out of humble midfield origins, splashing the cash while attempting to rise to the top of F1 in record time. There are clear parallels between Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin and the doomed Jaguar Racing project of 22 years ago, but Mark Gallagher believes struggling Aston can avoid a similar fate.