Liam Lawson has admitted he is “surprised” by being blamed for his part in an incident at Formula 1‘s Mexico City Grand Prix in which he almost ran over two marshals.
The Kiwi re-entered the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez after pitting on Lap 3, when he encountered the two marshals, removing debris from the middle of the track.
Lawson incredulously exclaimed that he could have “f***ing killed them” on the radio, and the incident sparked an FIA investigation once the race was over.
The incident sparked some contentious fallout, with the Mexico motorsport federation placing the blame on Lawson.
But the FIA swiftly cleared Lawson of any wrongdoing, which has effectively drawn a line under the situation.
Lawson was still subject to questions about it ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, and believes the thorough investigation has now tied up all the loose ends.
“I was very surprised,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “I think the FIA’s statement was very clear and very accurate.
I don’t really need to say too much more than what was put in that statement.
“It was obviously checked into, everything that led to that happening, to the fact that they got caught out there, and everything I did in the car to obviously slow down and avoid them, and take a completely different line to what I’ve taken through the entire weekend.
“But yes, I was extremely surprised. Still am very surprised.”
Lawson revealed that the FIA issued an apology to him after the race, and said that “miscommunication” was the cause.
“I had a talk with them and I appreciated that a lot,” he said. “I do understand we’re in a sport with a huge amount of variables, and these things, as much as they can’t happen again, they shouldn’t happen.
“There’s always a possibility of something like this, and obviously what’s most important is that the action is taken now to prevent it. So I didn’t have a problem with any of that. It was just the statement that came out, trying to accuse me of doing something.”
Lawson recalled the incident itself, his reflection of it overshadowing his retirement from the race a lap later.
“At the time I was more concerned about the fact that these two guys were running across the track in front of me,” he said.
“In that moment I have no idea what direction they’re going to run, and I try to basically do as little direction changes as possible so that they don’t get spooked and change direction.
“So at the time that was really what I was thinking about. Anyway, we had a very damaged car and it didn’t make a difference to our race.”
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