Charles Leclerc criticizes slow Safety Car after Silverstone victory: “My tyres were ice cold”. Charles Leclerc criticized the Safety Car's pace after the 2026 British GP.

The closing stages of the 2026 British Grand Prix were anything but calm for Charles Leclerc. Although the Ferrari driver eventually secured a long-awaited victory at Silverstone, tensions rose dramatically during the late Safety Car period, with Leclerc growing increasingly frustrated over the pace of the safety car.

“Charles, we need to calm down!” Team principal Frédéric Vasseur’s voice came over the team radio in an unusual intervention. It is rare for the Ferrari boss to speak directly to his driver during a race, but with emotions running high in the closing laps, Fred Vasseur stepped in to help keep Leclerc focused.

The Monegasque driver made it clear, both over the radio and through his gestures inside the cockpit, that he was unhappy with the Safety Car’s extremely slow pace. In the end, however, the Safety Car remained on track until the chequered flag, allowing Leclerc to claim his first Formula 1 victory in 37 Grands Prix.

Charles Leclerc criticizes the Safety Car

Speaking to France’s Canal+, Charles Leclerc explained why he was so frustrated during the final laps of the race.

“It wasn’t exactly pleasant to hear that the Safety Car was coming out while I was in the car. But the biggest issue, and it’s something we’ll probably discuss at the next briefing, was that the Safety Car had to slow down to allow the whole field to bunch back up.”

According to Charles Leclerc, the pace became so slow that it created a potentially dangerous situation for the race leader.

“I don’t think we went above 140 km/h behind the Safety Car. I was the first car following it, and my tyres were completely ice cold. If the race had restarted, I would have been in an extremely difficult situation. But that’s fine—at the end of the day, we still won,” Charles Leclerc concluded.