The FIA has moved to explain the bizarre situation late in the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix which saw Yuki Tsunoda not allowed to unlap himself.
A late-race Safety Car, when Lando Norris’ McLaren rolled to a halt with an electrical issue, saw three drivers caught a lap down, namely Nicholas Latifi, Alex Albon, and Tsunoda.
Once the McLaren had been cleared, Race Control allowed the two Williams drivers to unlap themselves, but not the Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Instead, he remained buried in the middle of the pack, despite being a lap behind the race leaders.
The FIA claimed the situation was unusual, and the result of the “idiosyncrasies of the specific circuit.”
According to the sport’s governing body, Tsunoda was the first car to cross SC1 following the deployment of the Safety Car.
He did so again on the next lap, which typically triggers the new-for-2022 software to flag him as eligible to unlap.
However, Tsunoda headed into the pits and, as he was able to go faster than the cars behind the Safety Car, he effectively unlapped himself while in pit lane.
Following his stop, he rejoined the circuit and was, correctly, scored a lap down.
Since under the Safety Car he had already unlapped himself, he was then not eligible to be waved by when lapped runners were allowed through.
The FIA stated that, while an unusual situation, there were no system or procedural issues, but the result of unpredictable scenarios.
As a result, there will be no immediate changes to the process, though it will be discussed at a future meeting of the Sporting Advisory Committee.
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