Michael Schumacher has demanded clarification of the safety car rules on Sunday after being held in the pits during the European Grand Prix.
The 41-year-old Mercedes driver dropped from third to 19th because he was forced to stop at the end of the pitlane after pitting during the safety car period.
The German was only able to work his way up to 16th place by the end of the race, the seven-time champion's worst ever finish in Formula One.
Schumacher has demanded an explanation as the hold-up ruined his race.
"What a race!" exclaimed Schumacher. "We would like to have clarification about the safety car situation as the red light on the exit from my first pitstop destroyed a race which otherwise would have offered us very good possibilities.
"Our point of view is that as the safety car had passed the pits without having the cars lined up behind it, there should not have been a red light. There was a green light for a moment and then suddenly it went red again. We believe that this was not correct.
"Our strategy was right in that context as we took the opportunity which could have given us a finish even close to the podium."
Mercedes boss Ross Brawn has also demanded an explanation a.
"The regulations are clear that the exit light should not go red until the line of cars has formed behind the safety car, and we would like the FIA to look into this." Said Brawn.
"There was no line formed and over 18 seconds between Hamilton and (Kamui) Kobayashi when Michael came in. It was a good effort from Michael to try and recover from there but ultimately a very frustrating afternoon."
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