Mexican sporting authority offers unofficial explanation into Liam Lawson marshal scare

Mexico’s national sporting authority offered an explanation into Liam Lawson’s near-miss encounter with marshals on track during last weekend’s race.

Lawson was shocked to encounter marshals on track at Turn 1 early in the Mexico City Grand Prix, an incident he deemed as “unacceptable” when he retired from the race shortly afterward.

What happened with Liam Lawson in the Mexico City Grand Prix?

During a clash with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, the Racing Bulls driver suffered front wing damage early on in the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which led to the Kiwi coming into the pits for a replacement.

Exiting the pits and approaching Turn 1, Lawson encountered marshals cleaning up debris from the racing line, forcing him to take avoiding action in order to prevent a catastrophic event.

Taking to team radio, Lawson said, “I could have f***ing killed them!” and, upon retiring from the race shortly after, opined that a miscommunication must have been to blame for the sequence of events that led to such a dangerous situation.

“I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he told media, including PlanetF1.com.

“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.

“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.”

What did the FIA have to say about Liam Lawson incident?

The FIA issued a statement on Sunday night, confirming that a double yellow flag had been shown in the area of the debris and that instructions to dispatch marshals to the debris had been rescinded.

“Following a Turn 1 incident, Race Control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner,” read the statement.

“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“As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded, and a double yellow flag was shown in that area.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.”

The statement emphasised, “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.”

OMDAI, Mexico’s national sporting authority, offers an explanation

On Wednesday, the national sporting authority (ASN) for the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Mexican International Motor Sport Federation (OMDAI), took to its own social media channels to offer its own viewpoint on how the incident unfolded.

While OMDAI is an FIA member organisation as a national sporting authority, the communication from the entity cannot be considered an official communication or explanation from the FIA, however honourable the intent of the explanation may be.

The outcome of the FIA’s investigation is yet to be concluded or communicated.

The multi-page document released by OMDAI, which is presented as though it’s an official FIA document, offered a sequence of screenshots from external camera footage as well as Lawson’s onboard camera, and suggested that the Kiwi driver’s actions had exacerbated the situation.

“As a result of the contact that occurred on arrival at Turn 1 between Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson, several parts of the car came loose, leaving debris scattered across the track, requiring the intervention of the track marshals to remove them and thus ensure the safety of the other drivers in the race,” the explanation started.

“Lawson entered the pits on Lap 3 to repair the damage to his car. During this time, track marshals were collecting the debris that had been scattered across the track as a result of the incident.

“Upon rejoining the track, Lawson encountered Panel 3 displaying “double yellow flags”, the team alerted the driver by radio message, as well as the track marshals’ post waving physical double yellow flags, indicating the presence of danger and personnel working on the circuit.

“In accordance with Appendix H of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, Article 2.5.5, the meaning of this signal is, ‘Reduce your speed significantly, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction or stop. There is a hazard wholly or partly blocking the track and/or marshals working on or beside the track.’

OMDAI pointed out that, “It should be noted that the Racing Bulls team informed the driver that there was debris on the track and that this section was under a double yellow flag, so that he should take extreme precautions when driving through the area.

“Therefore, at that moment, the driver had to significantly reduce his speed, refrain from overtaking, and be prepared to stop if necessary, in compliance with current safety regulations.

“When analysing the sequence from the camera on board the car, it can be seen that driver Liam Lawson, as he approaches Turn 1, begins to turn to take the racing line, at which point the presence of the track marshals is clearly visible as they carry out their intervention procedures to collect the pieces that had been left behind as a result of the previous contact.

“The proximity of the car to the work area shows that the track marshals were still active within the risky area, performing cleaning and safety tasks on the circuit.

“The images clearly show that driver Liam Lawson maintains the steering wheel angle of his car when taking Turn 1, without changing his trajectory, even though the track marshals were crossing the track to return to their post. This action occurs while personnel were still working in the area, which shows that the driver did not interrupt his line despite the obvious presence of marshals on the track.”

With OMDAI seeming to point the finger at Lawson’s actions, the ASN suggested that Lawson was only shown the green flag at Panel 4, while at the apex of Turn 2, meaning he had passed the area of danger after having driven through an at risk zone.

“Therefore, the track is only considered completely clear and safe once the driver has passed the green flag,” read the explanation, “marking the end of the sector affected by the incident and the restoration of normal racing conditions.”

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