New video footage has surfaced, revealing the close call Liam Lawson had with two track marshals who unexpectedly crossed the track during the recent Mexico City Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver had to rapidly reduce speed to avoid a potential catastrophe on the third lap of the race weekend.
The marshals stationed at turn one were informed about debris on the track and were instructed to wait until all cars had passed before entering the track to clear it. However, they seemed unaware that Lawson had already made a pit stop to replace his damaged front wing after the first lap.
Expressing shock over the radio, the 23-year-old exclaimed, “The f***? Oh my god are you kidding me? Did you just see that? Oh my god dude. I could have f***ing killed them mate.”
Video footage from the sidelines illustrated the peril the marshals faced, highlighting Lawson’s quick reflexes that averted a potential disaster. Even after the Grand Prix concluded, the driver remained astounded by the incident.
In his own words, Lawson stated, “I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I came out on a new set of hards, and then I got to Turn One and there were just two dudes running across the track. I nearly hit one of them, honestly, it was so dangerous. Obviously there’s been a miscommunication somewhere but I’ve never experienced that before, and I haven’t really seen that in the past. It’s pretty unacceptable.”
He further expressed, “We can’t understand how on a live track marshals can be allowed to just run across the track like that. I have no idea why. I’m sure we’ll get some sort of explanation, but it really can’t happen again.”
In response to the incident, the FIA issued a statement attempting to clarify the lapses that led to the hazardous situation. They announced an ongoing investigation to ascertain the sequence of events that led to the near-miss.
The FIA statement read, “Following a turn one incident, race control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner. On lap three, marshals were alerted and placed on standby to enter the track and recover the debris once all cars had passed. As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded and a double yellow flag was shown in that area.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.”
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