Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has suggested an automated chequered flag system could be introduced in the future following the controversy of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The flag was shown by model Winnie Harlow after 69 of the 70 laps in Montreal after a local official miscalculated and told her it was the last lap.
The results subsequently went back a further lap to the end of lap 68, robbing Daniel Ricciardo of his fastest lap.
A similar incident has happened in the past at the Chinese GP, while football legend Pele once missed the leader at Interlagos and waved the flag too late.
In cases such as Montreal there are also important safety considerations, as marshals could go onto the track believing that the race was over, and that drivers are cruising, when they have been told to race on by their teams.
Whiting said that he will now consider having the official signal for the end of the race shown on the light boards above the start/finish line, which would override any issues with the actual flag.
“I think we’d need to probably think about having a better end of race signal,” said Whiting.
“The chequered flag is traditional, but it’s something that, as we’ve seen today, is prone to mistakes.
Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has suggested an automated chequered flag system could be introduced in the future following the controversy of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The flag was shown by model Winnie Harlow after 69 of the 70 laps in Montreal after a local official miscalculated and told her it was the last lap.
The results subsequently went back a further lap to the end of lap 68, robbing Daniel Ricciardo of his fastest lap.
A similar incident has happened in the past at the Chinese GP, while football legend Pele once missed the leader at Interlagos and waved the flag too late.
In cases such as Montreal there are also important safety considerations, as marshals could go onto the track believing that the race was over, and that drivers are cruising, when they have been told to race on by their teams.
Whiting said that he will now consider having the official signal for the end of the race shown on the light boards above the start/finish line, which would override any issues with the actual flag.
"I think we'd need to probably think about having a better end of race signal," said Whiting.
"The chequered flag is traditional, but it's something that, as we've seen today, is prone to mistakes.
