Liam Lawson blamed by Mexican federation for near-miss with F1 marshals

The FIA’s Mexican body has blamed Liam Lawson’s near-miss with marshals at Formula 1’s Mexico Grand Prix on his alleged failure to sufficiently slow down under a double yellow flag.

The marshals’ intervention aimed at clearing debris from the collision between the Racing Bulls driver and Carlos Sainz on lap 1. The incident was not investigated by stewards during the race; the FIA’s own investigation is still ongoing.

OMDAI Sport Mexico published a release on Wednesday analysing the incident, backing its case with an in-depth description and visual evidence including numerous screenshots from Lawson’s onboard camera.

OMDAI Sport Mexico argued that Lawson did not slow down sufficiently under the double yellow flag that was waved due to the marshals’ presence on the track.

“When analysing the sequence from the camera onboard 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 statement reads.

“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.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team

Photo by: Hector Vivas / Getty Images

“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.”

Interviewed by written media after Sunday’s race, Lawson admitted to having quite a fright and branded the incident “unacceptable”.

“I honestly couldn't believe what I was seeing,” the New Zealander said. “I got to Turn 1 and there were two dudes just running across the track. And 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, I've only seen that in the past. It's pretty unacceptable.

“We obviously can't understand how, on a live track, marshals can be allowed to just run across the track like that. I mean, I have no idea why, but I'm sure we'll get some explanation.”

Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren