A commonly asked question is how drivers can be given a placing in the official race results even though they retired before the end of the race. The explanation can be found within the FIA regulations regarding classification.

These state that any driver who completed at least 90 per cent of the race distance will be classified, whether or not he was running when the winner took the chequered flag.

If a race is stopped before the full distance and a result is declared, the classification will reflect the race order at the end of the lap two laps prior to that on which the race was stopped (see ‘Suspending and resuming a race’). For example, if a race is stopped on lap 60, the classification will be as it was at the end of lap 58.