Maybe when it's obvious it's going to take more than a couple of laps to clear it, they should just Red flag it, get all the cars back on the grid in the right order, then do a warm up lap behind the safety car and do a rolling start after that.
Finishing under a safety car just deflates the whole weekend.
As for Max, maybe it's time for him to do what he keeps threatening, and leave F1. Have a year out and see if anyone chases him for 2028. There will be a queue of teenagers wanting his seat.