The FIA has clarified an on-track incident involving two marshals who were nearly hit by Liam Lawson in Formula 1‘s Mexico City Grand Prix, leading the Kiwi to describe it as “dangerous” and “unacceptable”.
Lawson had suffered front wing damage early on in the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which led to the Racing Bulls man coming into the pits for a replacement.
Upon re-entering the track, Lawson approached Turn 1, where he discovered the marshals clearing debris, forcing him to slam on the brakes to avoid collecting them.
An incensed Lawson took to team radio, conveying his surprise at nearly running over the marshals, saying: “I could have f***ing killed them!”
After the race, Lawson, who retired from the race shortly afterwards, explained to media including Motorsport Week his side of the incident, believing that there must have been a miscommunication which left them sent on to the track.
“Yeah, I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said. “I boxed, came out on a new set of Hards, and then I got to Turn 1 and there were two dudes running across the track.
“And I nearly hit one of them. It was so dangerous. There’s been a miscommunication somewhere. I’ve never experienced that before and I’ve never really seen that in the past, so pretty unacceptable.
“We can’t understand how, on a live track, marshals can be allowed to just run across the track like that.
“So, yeah, I mean, I have no idea why, but I’m sure we’ll get some explanation, but it really can’t happen again.”
FIA puts the record straight after Lawson near-miss
“Following a Turn 1 incident, Race Control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner. On Lap 3, Marshals were alerted and placed on standby to enter the track and recover the debris once all cars had passed Turn 1.
“As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded, and a double yellow flag was shown in that area.
“We are still investigating what occurred after that point.
“Later in the race on lap 70, [Carlos] Sainz spun and stopped in the runoff area on the outside of Turn 14. His car came to a halt in an exposed position.
“The car subsequently began smoking and race control received notifications of fire, making it clear that marshal intervention would be required for recovery.
“As is standard procedure when marshals are deployed to recover a car, the race is neutralized, in this case, a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was triggered until the car was moved to a safe location behind the barriers.
“The VSC ended as soon as the car was in a protected position, and the race concluded under green-flag conditions.”
The statement concluded: “We would like to underline our respect and appreciation for the local ASN, OMDAI, as well as the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and their marshals, who are volunteers and play a vital role in the safe and successful running of our sport. Their professionalism and dedication are invaluable to every event we stage.”
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