The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was just the second time an F1 race has finished behind a virtual safety car since its official introduction in 2015.

Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz were squabbling for third on the penultimate lap in Baku, but tangled coming out of Turn 2 causing both to crash into the wall.

It was deemed a “racing incident” and meant the grand prix finished under a VSC, where drivers must reduce their pace by 30% and cannot overtake one another.

The first time an F1 race concluded under a VSC was the 2024 Australian GP, where George Russell crashed at Turn 6 during the final lap leaving his Mercedes lopsided at Albert Park.

But there have been 11 occasions in which an F1 grand prix has finished under full safety car conditions, making it a more common occurrence.

So, when were those times?

F1 races which finished behind the safety car

1999 Canadian Grand Prix

The 1999 Canadian GP was the first F1 race to finish behind a safety car after Heinz-Harald Frenzen crashed at Turn 3 with four laps remaining. It was a devastating incident for the Jordan driver, who was running second at the time and was set for a third podium in six races until a brake failure sent him spinning into the barriers at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

This caused the race’s fourth safety car period — a then record — and the barrier damage plus close proximity between the stationary Jordan 199 and the track meant the grand prix could not be restarted, leaving Mika Hakkinen as the victor.

It was a third win of the season for that year’s world champion, who was joined on the podium by Giancarlo Fisichella and Eddie Irvine after a race where Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed at the final corner — thus coining the term ‘Wall of Champions’.

2009 Australian Grand Prix

The 2009 Australian GP was the second time an F1 race has finished behind a safety car and it happened because of a collision between Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica with three laps remaining.

Both drivers were battling for second in which Vettel attempted an overtake on the inside of Turn 3, but he went into the side of Kubica’s BMW causing each car to lose its front wing. Although they were initially able to continue, the Pole crashed out two corners later while Vettel also hit that wall but didn’t stop his Red Bull until the following lap between Turns 10 and 11.

There was a lot of debris, so a safety car finish was ordered which gave Brawn GP its dream debut finishing 1-2 with Jenson Button ahead of Rubens Barrichello. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli completed the podium, while an investigation deemed Vettel at fault so the eventual four-time world champion, who was making his Red Bull debut in Melbourne, was given a 10-place grid drop for the following round in Malaysia.

2009 Italian Grand Prix

While there was 10 years between F1’s first two safety car finishes, the third came quite soon after the second. That’s because it happened at the 2009 Italian GP, six months after Australia, where Lewis Hamilton was just behind Button in the battle for second until the reigning world champion crashed between the two Lesmo corners on his penultimate lap.

A safety car was therefore deployed but it didn’t appear on track, as race leader Barrichello was already on his final lap. This meant he could not be picked up, so in the modern day that would have most likely been a VSC.

Barrichello crossed the line 2.8s ahead of Button for what was Brawn GP’s final victory, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in third while the Briton clinched the world title three rounds later.

2010 Monaco Grand Prix

There was just one safety car finish in 2010, which came at the Monaco GP after a collision between Trulli and Karun Chandhok, who were battling for 14th with eight laps remaining. Trulli made an ambitious move down the inside of La Rascasse but he slid into the side of Chandhok’s HRT, causing his Lotus to become mounted on top.

The incident occurred just in front of race leader Mark Webber, who drove the rest of the grand prix under safety car conditions during which Vitaly Petrov retired because of a brake failure.

So the Red Bull driver claimed back-to-back wins to move to the top of the championship standings, while team-mate Vettel and Renault’s Kubica joined Webber on the podium. There was more drama further back though, as Schumacher overtook Fernando Alonso for sixth on the final lap but it happened under safety car conditions meaning the seven-time world champion received a 20s penalty and dropped to 12th.

2012 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2012 Brazilian GP concluded an incredibly exciting season, where Vettel and Alonso battled each other all year for their third world title. The drama continued into the final race, as Vettel was forced into a recovery drive after spinning to last on lap one, while rain was constantly on and off in typical Interlagos fashion.

The conditions caught out Paul Di Resta on the penultimate lap, as he aquaplaned into the final corner and subsequently hit the barriers — leaving his Force India stranded on track after it had been running in eighth.

Given it happened so late on, a safety car was called for the remainder of the race — allowing McLaren’s Button to win ahead of Alonso who took his final grand prix victory, while the Spaniard’s Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa completed the podium.

But it was still despair for Alonso, as Vettel finished sixth which was high enough for the Red Bull driver to clinch his third consecutive world championship.

2014 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2014 Canadian GP featured another safety car finish, 15 years on from F1’s first which was also at Circuit Gilles Villeneueve. This time it happened on the final lap after Massa hit the back of fourth-placed Sergio Perez at Turn 1, which caused the Force India to crash at 32G while immediately after the Williams almost struck Vettel’s Red Bull in third as well.

It caused the race to finish under safety car conditions meaning Vettel’s team-mate Daniel Ricciardo scored the first win of his F1 career after overtaking Nico Rosberg two laps before the collision.

2015 Chinese Grand Prix

The next safety car finish happened a year later at the 2015 Chinese GP, when Hamilton claimed his fourth victory in Shanghai ahead of Mercedes team-mate Rosberg and Vettel, who was now at Ferrari.

The three were separated by just 2.988s after rookie Max Verstappen suffered a transmission failure which caused his Toro Rosso to stop along the start-finish straight with three laps remaining.

With not enough time for a restart, the race finished under safety car conditions which Vettel would have been grateful for as before it, his team-mate Raikkonen was rapidly closing on fresher tyres.

From start to finish though, Mercedes was the superior team and its 1-2 gave Hamilton his second victory in three races before eventually clinching a third drivers’ title in 2015.

2019 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2019 Bahrain GP is mostly famous for an engine failure costing Charles Leclerc a dominant victory in just his second Ferrari race, as it dropped him from first to third in the final nine laps.

But during that period, with four tours to go, Renault agonisingly lost a double points finish as within moments of each other sixth-placed Nico Hulkenberg and 10th-placed Ricciardo both strangely suffered abrupt power unit failures at Turn 1.

Given both cars were in the runoff area with little time left, a safety car was brought out to finish the race. Hamilton emerged victorious ahead of Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes 1-2, while the eventual seven-time world champion consoled a dejected Leclerc in the cooldown room.

2020 Bahrain Grand Prix

The 2020 Bahrain GP will leave a lasting legacy for its opening lap incident, where Romain Grosjean struck the barrier at an estimated 67G on the exit of Turn 3. His Haas car split in half and set alight with Grosjean enduring the flames for approximately 28 seconds, before getting out and fortunately only suffering burns to his hands and ankles — the halo was credited for preventing further injury.

Yet the race, which restarted 80 minutes after the crash, also finished under safety car conditions for a second consecutive time at the Bahrain GP. It happened after the Racing Point of Perez, which was running third, suffered an engine failure and caught fire at Turn 10 with four laps remaining.

So the Mexican pulled over along the following straight, but a lack of runoff area meant his RP20 was still close to the track. This made it difficult to clear the area in time for a restart, meaning Hamilton became the first driver to win under three safety car finishes.

The Red Bull pair of Verstappen and Alex Albon completed the podium while Perez, who replaced the Thai-Briton for the following season, quickly bounced back as he claimed his maiden grand prix victory a week later at the same venue.

2022 Italian Grand Prix

The safety car finish at the 2022 Italian GP was fairly controversial, as it prompted criticism from various members of the paddock who thought the race should have been restarted. It came about because of Ricciardo stopping his McLaren between the two Lesmo corners due to an oil leak with eight laps remaining.

But the reigning Italian GP winner left his car stuck in gear, which meant it could not be moved back behind the barriers and required a crane to lift it from trackside. The FIA opted against a red flag, so Verstappen won under safety car conditions ahead of Leclerc and George Russell.

An FIA spokesperson explained: «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.

«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.»

2023 Australian Grand Prix

The 2023 Australian GP featured another controversial finish. With six laps to go, Kevin Magnussen caused a safety car after crashing at the exit of Turn 2, but that became a red flag three tours later because of the debris on track.

A standing restart occurred on the penultimate lap, yet a multi-car collision towards the back at Turn 1 caused another red flag. So with only a lap remaining, drivers left the pit lane behind the safety car and the race finished under said conditions where Verstappen won ahead of runner-up Hamilton and third-placed Alonso.

Altogether, there were three red flags in that race which prompted criticism of the FIA as Lando Norris, who finished sixth, claimed “the whole point of red flagging it, it feels like was just to put on a show”.

Well done Baku — you’ve managed another year of hosting a thrilling Formula 1 race. The race-long duel between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri set the key narrative for this year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but a wealth of action throughout the field all fought for second billing across the 51-lap race.

Of course, the stark differences in speeds between the Neftchilar Avenue ‘straight’ and the tight Old City section prompted much in the way of set-up compromise — and an ever-evolving track made it difficult for the teams to get their tyre preparations right. And, as we know, uncertainty is the key ingredient for an unpredictable race. An end-of-race crash, impressive rookie drivers, and alternate strategies all contributed to the cocktail.

And there was plenty more to get stuck into off-track, as the 2025 driver market slowly nears completion and the fallout of Adrian Newey’s impending move to Aston Martin began to settle upon the paddock. Let’s review the events in Baku, shall we?

1. Just how good Piastri can be in attack and defence

Piastri fought his way to first, then held off Leclerc’s advances

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

Oscar Piastri’s second Formula 1 career victory should, surely, one day be a contender for his best ever – a list that on this evidence will only grow. For the Baku race was so good overall and Charles Leclerc was on brilliant form and so hard to beat around a very tricky course, plus the eventual winner showed experience beyond his not even two years at the top level.

Piastri’s pass from way back on the approach to Turn 1 on lap 20 made the difference. He “completely ignored” engineer Tom Stallard’s advice not to make an early lunge on fragile new tyres basically immediately in his second stint. He then braked so late McLaren team boss Andrea Stella felt “my instinct was, ‘he’s gonna go long’”. But Piastri not only didn’t slide deep, he pretty much nailed the perfect racing line over the left-hander’s apex kerb.

PLUS: The radio message Piastri “ignored” to win Baku’s three-way fight thriller

Then he soaked up 25 laps of intense pressure – mainly via his judgement to get good traction in the 90-degree turns of sector one allying with the McLaren’s strengths on traction, plus taking risks in the middle sector where Ferrari’s greater downforce level meant it was better – before Leclerc lost DRS. He’d destroyed his hards in what turned out to generally be a thermal degradation race that before the start many instead had feared would be an event decided by tyre surface graining.

Stella reckoned it all showed how Piastri “is always surprising us with talent, with his ability”.

“I would say, today, he gave also a demonstration of his mental strength,” Stella added. “He drove like a driver that has a lot of experience that has been under this kind of pressure before – that can look with one eye at the mirror, with the other eye at the braking point.

“Oscar did it again with a great level of precision and was pretty controlled. Even when he was talking on the radio, [he] seemed very much under control. Phenomenal driver, brilliant drive.”

Hear, hear.

2. Haas is already loving working with Bearman

Bearman became the first driver to score points in his first two races with two separate teams

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Ollie Bearman now has a 100% record for points finishes from multiple F1 events in 2024 and has collected them for two teams, with Haas now following his Ferrari Jeddah appearance in place of the appendicitis-addled Carlos Sainz.

Bearman got to make an early debut with the team that he will race for full-time in 2025. Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu told Autosport that overall Bearman’s weekend had been, “not perfect, but pretty impressive”.

Bearman came within 0.128s of making Q3, only missing out due to Turns 11 and 12 slides on his final qualifying run. But he did outqualify vastly more experienced team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in his one-off here and bounced back from a sloppy FP3 crash.

In the race, Haas got its stint one race pace targets wrong for Bearman on the mediums and so Hulkenberg had to be waved by, before Bearman and Lewis Hamilton jumped the German in the aftermath of the Carlos Sainz/Sergio Perez crash right at race’s end.

But perhaps the most important element of Bearman’s weekend is how he quickly integrated himself with his new team.

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He had some familiarity from six FP1 appearances in less than a year with Haas, but Autosport sources at the team suggest Bearman’s quick learning and quiet, self-deprecating attitude have hit the right notes for a squad that hasn’t enjoyed the sort of lofty glory of the organisation where Bearman remains a junior, Ferrari.

It is understood the Scuderia will be paying the Briton’s wages next year, while Haas is also benefitting from his media-training slickness gleamed in its Academy.

3. F1 set for discussion on penalty points system review after Magnussen ban

Magnussen did not take part in Azerbaijan after picking up a ban

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Bearman’s second 2024 substitute appearance had been more controversial, as it followed Kevin Magnussen becoming the first F1 driver banned under the championship’s penalty licence points system regarding driving standards.

The Dane had support from many of his peers regarding the clash with Pierre Gasly at Monza that led to his suspension. Gasly even argued for Magnussen not to be banned and said he would vouch on his behalf to officials.

The topic was raised in the Baku drivers briefing, where Gasly said he “asked them on moving forward because I think as a sport we never like to see someone penalised in that way and the view was that it was a bit harsh”. He said in response to his question, he found the FIA is “open on reviewing and moving forward, which is the most important”.

Autosport understands that while not yet at the point of activating a full review into whether the penalty points system needs any alteration in the wake of Magnussen’s ban – something that would only happen at the end of each season in any case – steps towards this will be discussed in the off-season.

But even if a review is carried out, there may be little change to the system anyway.

Autosport learned in Baku that post-Monza, the FIA analysed the average number of points issued per driver for all of 2024 and when cross referenced with the number of times Magnussen had been the subject of stewards’ decisions this season, the drivers understood how the ban had ended up coming about.

4. How F1 weather systems work without key elements

The weather didn’t threaten the race, but rain could have caused more issues than others

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

A political dispute between the French and Azeri governments regarding tensions around the various interests in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict meant the Baku weekend took place without one of F1’s usual key systems working as usual.

This was the radar system that is usually deployed at the highest point of any circuit location to pinpoint weather systems traversing the areas and their surrounds. With the FIA’s official F1 weather partner — Meteo-France – forced to comply with travel advice issued by the French government not to travel to Azerbaijan, its staff that usually attend races and set up the radar at the highest point of any circuit location, plus four weather stations to monitor wind and ambient temperature, had to work remotely.

The FIA installed one weather station in the Baku pitlane on Meteo-France’s behalf, while the teams relied solely on the commercial weather radar services most use in addition to the Meteo-France supply at other events anyway.

Several teams had small numbers of French staff that could also not travel to Baku – the ban likely to invalidate certain insurance packages – but this is understood to not have included French-British squad, Alpine.

As one team principal quipped to Autosport about the lack of full weather coverage, the paddock adapted to working with “Meteo-Chance!”

5. Perez has still got it — in Baku, at least

Perez returned to form over the weekend, even if there were no points to show for it

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Ever since Azerbaijan first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2016, Sergio Perez has been the most consistently impressive performer on the Baku City Circuit. Without a gearbox change, Perez would have started from the front row in that first season, no mean feat for a Force India driver at the time. He ended up on the podium anyway to finish third, and repeated the feat two years later.

Actually, it was easier before the weekend to name the Baku races where Perez hadn’t finished on the podium: 2017 and 2019. He won the 2021 and 2023 editions, finished second in 2022, and had completely outclassed Max Verstappen throughout the weekend this year as he appeared to recoup his mojo around the Azeri streets.

PLUS: Azerbaijan Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024

That it ended sandwiched between Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari and the wall was perhaps not what Perez anticipated. Both drivers have their part to play in the incident, and waving it off as a 50/50 was the correct call, but it rather takes the shine away from what was a stellar afternoon for Perez. After all, he was well within the victory fight; Perez stood back and watched Leclerc and Piastri dice for the lead, always on hand to pick up the pieces.

Many myths about Perez have been dispelled of late: the ‘tyre whisperer’ mantle has seldom been seen versus Verstappen, and the ‘street race specialist’ tag has not been able to withstand a few prangs at Monaco. But the Baku mastery remains, despite the toil and trouble that the Mexican has endured throughout 2024.

6. Williams’ Colapinto decision has already been vindicated

Colapinto has already outscored Sargeant’s career tally

Photo by: Williams

Williams choosing to replace Logan Sargeant was not much of a surprise, all told; choosing to promote Franco Colapinto from within undoubtedly was. Yet, it appears to have been something of a masterstroke, as the young Argentine has immediately impressed and quadrupled Sargeant’s points tally after just two races with the team.

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Colapinto carries himself with a wide-eyed astonishment that he’s broken into F1’s inner sanctum, defaulting to a graciousness towards the faith shown in him during interviews. The latest subject of his disbelief lay in Thursday’s press conference, giddily noting from the sofa that the room was brimming with journalists compared to the empty-room sessions conducted in F2. And if Colapinto thinks that the press conference was full on Thursday (if anything, the room was half-empty), imagine how he’ll feel in the event he’s ever scheduled for a Monaco Grand Prix press session…

But behind the affability is a steely and determined racer, one prepared to cut it against F1’s best. It looked for a time that Colapinto might miss out on points, as Nico Hulkenberg briefly peeled the Williams driver out of the top 10 — but the German’s brush with the wall at Turn 15 set into motion a reversal in position. In the aftermath of the Perez/Sainz shunt, Colapinto was promoted to eighth for a four-point haul — one that helped Williams move past Alpine in the constructors’ standings.

“I hope to be showing what I’m capable of and that I deserve a seat in Formula 1,” Colapinto suggested after the Azerbaijan race. “The idea and the opportunity that James gave me is helping me to show that.”

7. All teams comply with 2023 cost cap — but procedural breaches for manufacturers

Alpine and Honda fell foul of procedures related to the budget cap

Photo by: Alpine

Ever since Christian Horner donned a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles to deliver the news that Red Bull had surpassed the 2021 cost cap — the first of its kind, the fine and aero testing penalty levied upon the team has been enough to keep the teams in check during the past two financial audits. Either that, or accounting is simply becoming more creative…

Either way, 10 teams were found to be within compliance of the 2023 cost cap, and all power unit manufacturers were within the cost cap spend limits too — but there were procedural breaches for both Honda and Renault.

Restrictions upon the power unit manufacturers were introduced in 2023 for the first time in accordance with development for the 2026 engine formula. Once the two manufacturers sign their accepted breach agreements, the scope of the penalties — which is expected to be minor — will become known.

Aston Martin was forced to pay $450k for a procedural breach of 2021’s cost cap rules, with incorrectly excluded or incorrectly adjusted costs involved with its factory build. Williams received a $25k fine for that year due to a late submission of an interim financial report. No breaches were reported for the 2022 cost cap.

That Renault has triggered a procedural breach is of note, given the manufacturer is set to pull the plug on its 2026 power unit development and link up with Mercedes on a customer basis.

F1 heads to Singapore this weekend, with just seven races left on the calendar in 2024

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

McLaren Formula 1 team boss Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris blocking Sergio Perez played a crucial part in Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory.

Piastri was shadowing Ferrari’s leader Charles Leclerc in the first stint of a one-stop race when third-placed Sergio Perez attempted to undercut the McLaren driver by being the first to pit on lap 14. Rather than responding immediately, Piastri stayed out for two additional laps before his lap 16 pitstop, which saw him in danger of losing second to the Red Bull.

But in the wake of McLaren backing Norris in his title bid against Max Verstappen, Norris actually helped Piastri in Baku.

Having started 15th on the harder tyres, Norris had fallen a pitstop behind Perez and saw the Mexican come out behind him after his stop. As requested by his race engineer, Norris tried to hold up Perez for two laps, which allowed Piastri to make his pitstop and still come out ahead of the Red Bull.

Piastri’s quick in- and out-laps also cut his deficit to leader Leclerc once the Ferrari driver pitted, and on lap 20 the Australian made a late lunge to the inside of Turn 1 to take the lead of the race, which he would end up defending for a second career win.

McLaren team principal Stella felt Norris’ actions may well have been key to Piastri winning the race, as dropping behind Perez would have robbed the Australian of the chance to pass Leclerc before his tyres started fading too much in dirty air.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

«Perez was undercutting and effectively, without Lando’s help Perez could have pitted [and stayed] ahead of Oscar, and the race could have unfolded in a completely different way,» Stella said.

«So, I think 50% of Oscar’s victory today is shared with Lando and it just shows that we are approaching racing as one team. We had conversations before the weekend where we would bias one way or the other. But we approach every weekend trying to maximise the result for the team, and if one driver needs help, the other driver will do it.»

Stella admitted he first thought Piastri’s hair-raising pass on Leclerc in Turn 1 would end up in the run-off area.

«When I watched it live and I saw him going, my instinct said he’s going to go long, because the delay in the braking point,» he revealed.

«He came from quite far, and still he negotiated the apex. So yeah, I was surprised. But Oscar is always surprising us with his ability, and I would say today, he gave also a demonstration of his mental strength.

«He drove like a driver that has a lot of experience, that has been under this kind of pressure before, that can look with one eye at the mirror, with the other eye at where the braking point is.»

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, the McLaren team celebrate in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Poignantly, Piastri’s win and Norris’ strong recovery to fourth allowed McLaren to take over the lead of the constructors’ title for the first time in 10 years as it bids to defeat Red Bull, opening up a 20-point lead.

«As a milestone, it’s definitely huge,» Stella added. «Because we don’t have to forget that we were last when we started last season, and now we lead the classification.

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«That has been possible thanks to the hard work, and the quality of the work of the entire team, the support from our shareholders, our partners, the fans — you achieve this because you achieve it together.»

A small price to pay for McLaren’s Baku success was a 5000 euro fine for some of its crew members heading towards parc ferme to celebrate before the end of the race, which was penalised by the stewards.