The FIA has defended Liam Lawson after the Mexican Vehicle Membership accused him of not respecting the yellow flag over his driving on the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix.
The FIA is investigating how two monitor marshals ran throughout the circuit as Lawson entered Flip 1 early in Sunday’s race, and the New Zealander mentioned on his crew radio after getting out of his automotive that the incident was unacceptable, saying: “I might have killed them with that shit.” On Thursday, the FIA-recognized Mexican federation (OMDAI) launched a prolonged doc outlining the timeline of occasions, seemingly criticizing Lawson’s actions on the time.
“Upon returning to the monitor, Lawson encountered Panel 3 displaying a ‘double yellow flag’ and the crew radioed to warn the driving force whereas the monitor marshal publish waved a bodily double yellow flag to point the presence of a hazard and personnel engaged on the circuit,” OMDAI mentioned.
“It ought to be famous that the Racing Bulls crew suggested drivers to make use of excessive warning when driving within the space as there was particles on the monitor and a double yellow flag had been issued for this part. Drivers at the moment have been due to this fact required to considerably scale back velocity, chorus from overtaking and be ready to cease if obligatory, in accordance with present security rules.”
“Evaluation of the sequence from the digicam mounted on the automotive reveals that driver Liam Lawson begins to show to take the racing line as he approaches Flip 1. At that time, the presence of monitor marshals is clearly seen finishing up intervention steps to retrieve particles left on account of the earlier contact. The proximity of the automotive to the work space reveals that monitor marshals have been nonetheless working inside the hazardous space, finishing up cleansing and security work on the circuit.”
“The pictures clearly present that driver Liam Lawson maintained the angle of the automotive’s steering wheel because it handed Flip 1 with out altering its trajectory, regardless that the monitor marshal was crossing the monitor to return to his publish. This motion occurred whereas personnel have been nonetheless working within the space. This reveals that the driving force didn’t interrupt the road regardless of the obvious presence of the marshal.”
The FIA didn’t take kindly to criticism of Lawson, revealing that the Racing Bulls driver slowed down considerably following a yellow flag.
“Whereas the investigation is ongoing, we acknowledge {that a} state of affairs the place a marshal is on monitor in entrance of oncoming site visitors is one thing we by no means wish to see, so it’s pure that an incident like this could trigger concern and far remark,” the FIA mentioned in a press release. “Whereas we’re lucky that this incident didn’t have severe penalties, we’re conducting an inside investigation to know precisely what occurred and establish areas the place we are able to enhance our procedures.
“To this finish, we’re collaborating overtly and transparently with OMDAI (Vehicle Membership de Mexico) and the Racing Bulls F1 Group, with the final word aim of attaining our frequent aim of continually enhancing the security of the game.”
“As with all main incidents, an entire evaluation will take a while as it is going to contain gathering and reviewing all related proof, together with multilingual radio communications from varied events, and synchronizing all of those various inputs. Findings will probably be shared as soon as the evaluation is full.”
“Evaluation of the telemetry of the incident confirms that the driving force of the No. 30 automotive, Liam Lawson, slowed appropriately, reacted appropriately to the double yellow flags posted within the space, braked sooner than he would have finished on the remainder of the lap, and entered Flip 1 at a velocity considerably under racing velocity. He’s not at fault for this incident.”
“Lastly, I want to categorical my honest gratitude to our volunteers and marshals for his or her professionalism and dedication. With out them, our sport couldn’t function safely.”
