Six people who invaded the track during the 2022 British Grand Prix have been found guilty of a conspiracy to cause public nuisance.
The sextuplet scaled the barriers along the Wellington Straight shortly after the start of the race at Silverstone in July 2022 with the intent of undertaking a protest.
As they did so the race had already been suspended due to Zhou Guanyu’s violent accident at the opening corner.
Five managed to walk onto the tarmac and sit on the circuit while a sixth was halted by a marshal as they began to climb the fence.
All were armed with glue and intended to glue themselves to the surface of the track.
They were swiftly removed by marshals and arrested by police.
The jury at Northampton Crown Circuit found all six guilty of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.
Sentencing is due to take place at the end of March.
“The actions of these six people could have had fatal consequences had it not been for an incident at the beginning of the race,” said Lead Investigator Detective Sergeant Cory Wise.
“They not only put their lives at risk but also those of the drivers, as well as the many marshals, volunteers and members of the public. This is completely unacceptable, whatever the cause or the reason, and we will always pursue action against people like this.
“Protesting is of course everyone’s human right in this country and we clearly communicated to this group before race day that we were more than willing to work with them to facilitate something peaceful, that didn’t endanger people’s lives, however they chose not to listen.
“I am pleased therefore that all six were found guilty by the jury and I hope this case shows the seriousness with which we take incidents like this and that anything that puts innocent members of the public at risk will not be tolerated.”
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