FIA to investigate F1 Mexico GP marshal incident, explains late VSC

The FIA says it will investigate Liam Lawson’s close call with two marshals during Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix, and also issued an explanation for a late virtual safety car for Carlos Sainz’s stranded Williams.

On lap 3, Liam Lawson suffered a scare when he encountered two marshals on the racing surface near Turn 3.

The marshals were deployed to clean up debris left by several Turn 1 skirmishes as soon as all cars had come through, but that order had to be rescinded after it emerged that Lawson had pitted for a new front wing, meaning there was no longer a big enough gap for the marshals to go and safely recover any debris.

Encountering two marshals on his path towards Turn 2, Lawson said: “I could have f**king killed them!”

The FIA says it is investigating why the marshals were out on the track by then.

“Following a Turn 1 incident, Race Control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner,” the statement read. “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“As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded, and a double yellow flag was shown in that area.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.

“We would like to underline our respect and appreciation for the local ASN, OMDAI, as well as the Autodromo 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.”

FIA explains virtual safety car for Sainz

On the penultimate lap of the 71-lap race, the virtual safety car came out for Sainz’s stricken Williams, which the Spaniard parked in the Foro Sol stadium section.

The VSC period came at a crucial point as Max Verstappen was threatening to overtake Charles Leclerc for second, with the neutralisation rescinded on the final lap when there was no more chance for Verstappen to attack the Ferrari driver.

The FIA has now explained that it simply followed standard procedure to recover Sainz’s car as he stopped out on track and there was a fire hazard.

“Sainz spun and stopped in the runoff area on the outside of Turn 14. His car came to a halt in an exposed position,” and FIA spokesperson said. “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 neutralised, 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.”

Leclerc said the VSC likely saved his second place, while Verstappen was not too fussed about losing his chance to move up the order.

“No, not really. I mean, sometimes the safety car has been very nice to me as well in my career,” the Red Bull driver said. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It’s how it goes in racing.”

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– The Autosport.com Team