The FIA has explained the controversial late Virtual Safety Car period, which spoiled Max Verstappen's pursuit of Charles Leclerc and the chance of a blockbuster finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, saying the deployment was necessary after marshals were forced to enter the track.
A stunning final stint saw Verstappen wipe out a 20-plus second gap to Leclerc on a fresh set of tyres as he hunted down the Ferrari driver for second place. As he got into range to use the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid, FIA race control signaled a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) to deal with the stopped Williams car of Carlos Sainz in the stadium section.
The VSC is used when the deployment of the physical Safety Car is deemed unnecessary, but when the pace of the race still needs to be dramatically slowed in order to clear trackside danger. With drivers also prevented from overtaking during a VSC, the timing of its deployment on Sunday appeared to have spoiled Verstappen's chance of getting by.
Some fans expressed their annoyance at the use of the VSC, with Sainz's stopped car appearing to be in a safe enough position to not be an issue.
It may well have a significant impact on the championship as it appeared to stop two crucial moves from potentially happening: Oscar Piastri was denied the chance to pass Haas driver Oliver Bearman, which would have allowed him to hold onto the lead of the championship, and Verstappen, seen as the outside wildcard in the drivers' title race, was stopped from gaining an extra three points by passing Leclerc.
Leclerc joked after the race: "I was very happy to see the [virtual] safety car coming out in the last two laps! I think without it there was more chance of Max getting past than me staying in front."
Asked if he was annoyed the VSC was used, Verstappen said: "No not really. I mean sometimes the safety car has been very nice to me as well in my career so sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, it's how it goes in racing.
"Would have been fun I think today, well maybe a bit more fun for me than for Charles defending, but it would have been a fun ending I think for everyone to to watch."
In a statement on Sunday evening, the FIA explained the VSC came out because marshals were needed to clear the car.
The statement said: "On lap 70, Sainz spun and stopped in the runoff area on the outside of Turn 14. His car came to a halt in an exposed position. The car subsequently began smoking and race control received notifications of fire, making it clear that marshal intervention would be required for recovery.
"As is standard procedure when marshals are deployed to recover a car, the race is neutralized, in this case, a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was triggered until the car was moved to a safe location behind the barriers. The VSC ended as soon as the car was in a protected position, and the race concluded under green-flag conditions."
The FIA was also under fire for a moment at the beginning of the race involving marshals.
At the start of the third lap, Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson almost struck two marshals who were running across the track at Turn 1.