The Canadian Grand Prix ended in confusion after supermodel Winnie Harlow waved the checkered flag prematurely.
Harlow, who was at the race as a guest of Formula One, waved the flag on the 69th circuit of the 70-lap race.
Her error meant the race was cut short by two laps, but did not affect the results as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel led from the start.
She blamed race officials after the blunder, saying that she was told to wave the flag with one lap of the Montreal race still remaining.
Formula One guest Harlow is seen waving the flag on the 69th circuit of the 70-lap race
Model Winnie Harlow waves the checkered flag at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix
Race winner Sebastian Vettel recognized that the flag had been issued too early
‘When they tell you to wave the flag a lap too early,’ the 23-year-old said in a post on Instagram. ‘You had one job sir!’
‘So grateful everyone was safe today and no one got hurt.’
As a result of the error, the timings were therefore taken based on the positions of the race on lap 68, according to article 43.2 of the Formula 1 sporting regulations.
Daniel Ricciardo’s fastest lap on lap 69 was expunged as a result of the error, handing the prize instead to Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.
Harlow poses for a photo on the grid before the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix in Montreal
She later blamed race officials after the blunder, saying that she was told to wave the flag early
Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari celebrates on the podium
The podium (left to right): Valtteri Bottas in second place; Sebastian Vettel in first place; and Max Verstappen in third. The flag error did not affect the results of the race
Vettel, who claimed a dominant lights-to-flag victory, recognized that the flag had been issued too early.
‘Tell them not to wave the checkered flag when it’s not done yet,’ Vettel said over the Ferrari team radio.
Later he added: ‘I told my team on the last lap so people would not jump on the track to celebrate.
‘Some of the marshals were already celebrating. They peaked a bit early.’
Vettel leads Lewis Hamilton in the championship by one point after the Briton crossed the line a disappointing fifth.