The 2026 British Grand Prix ended behind the Safety Car, with the field crossing the finish line at reduced speed. During those final laps, however, Lando Norris briefly wondered whether there might still be a clever way to snatch victory.
A humorous exchange with his race engineer, Will Joseph, revealed that the McLaren driver had one of the most famous moments in Formula 1 history in mind.
Lando Norris’ team radio
As the race approached its conclusion under Safety Car conditions, Norris asked over the radio:
Lando Norris: “We’re not allowed to pit, right? You can’t win from the pit lane?”
Will Joseph: “No, you can’t.”
Lando Norris: “That’s a shame.”
The exchange was later shared on Formula 1’s official social media channels, accompanied by the caption: “Lando is clearly a student of Formula 1 history. And a cheeky one too!”
Inspired by Michael Schumacher’s famous Silverstone victory
Norris’ joke inevitably recalled one of the most controversial and ingenious finishes in Formula 1 history: Michael Schumacher’s victory for Ferrari at Silverstone in 1998.
On that occasion, Schumacher had been handed a stop-and-go penalty with only a few laps remaining. Ferrari realized that the finish line was located before the entrance to the team’s pit box, so the German driver entered the pit lane on the 52nd and final lap.
Schumacher crossed the finish line while driving through the pit lane, officially winning the race before stopping to serve his penalty. Ferrari’s clever interpretation of the regulations exposed a loophole in the Sporting Code, prompting the FIA to rewrite the rules to prevent the same situation from happening again.
That regulation change is precisely why Lando Norris was unable to recreate Schumacher’s famous Silverstone manoeuvre 28 years later.
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