A Formula 1 fan attending the Australian Grand Prix was injured during the race after he was struck by debris from Kevin Magnussen’s car.
Magnussen hit the wall on the exit of the second corner late on in the grand prix and retired after sustaining damage to the right side of his VF-23 Haas challenger.
Will Sweet was standing on the hill behind the catch fencing and revealed to radio outlet 3AW that he was hit by debris which cut his arm.
“It slapped me in the arm and I was just standing there bleeding,” he said. “My arm was covering where my neck would’ve been, but if that had hit my fiancee, it would’ve got her right in the head.
“I realised how big it was and how heavy it was. Part of it was shredded and really sharp, if it hit me in a different angle, it could’ve been horrendous.”
The incident has raised concerns over fan safety, a situation that received great attention on Sunday after fans ran onto the circuit while the cars were still crossing the line.
Race organisers have already confirmed that they will review how the fans got onto a live track.
Race organiser says injured fan incident was “freak one-off” occurrence
Andrew Westacott, who is stepping down from his role as CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation later this year, described Sweet’s injury from debris as a “freak one-off” incident.
“We actually coincidentally had one of our engineering staff there who saw it, and anecdotally it would appear that debris carbon fibre from the wheel hub has shot 20 metres or so in the air, shot up, landed down and lacerated a gentleman’s arm,” said Westacott.
“Our people were aware of the incident. It looks as if out was a freak one-off, because you can’t necessarily have these debris fences going 20 metres in the air.
“The debris fences are consistent in height around the world. We’re compliant in our FIA regulations, but like everything in motorsport, you do debriefs at the end of the event and see what you can do to improve.
“I hope the guy is okay. It’s a reminder that safe is paramount when it comes to Formula 1.”
While a tragedy was avoided at Albert Park on this occasion, the location has had a fatal incident in the past.
In 2001, a crash between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher resulted in the death of a trackside marshal who was struck by a wheel.
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