Firm FIA intervention uncovered as Liam Lawson receives apology after Mexican accusation

Liam Lawson has revealed he received an apology from the FIA following his near-miss incident with marshals in Mexico.

The Kiwi driver was involved in a frightening incident when, upon rejoining the track after a pitstop, he encountered two marshals crossing the racing line exiting Turn 1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Liam Lawson ‘surprised’ by OMDAI statement

With the potential for the incident to have been of considerable danger for the marshals and Lawson, the FIA confirmed its intention to carry out a full investigation into how the circumstances had played out to the point where marshals were crossing the track in front of a car.

A statement from the FIA on Sunday evening following the race clarified an instruction to send marshals out on track to retrieve debris had been rescinded when Lawson pitted, only for the Racing Bulls driver to then encounter two crossing the track as he negotiated Turn 1.

Lawson took to the team radio to voice his shock and surprise at the incident, exclaiming that he “could have killed” the personnel. In F1’s history, an incident in which a driver struck a marshal, resulting in the deaths of both, occurred at the 1977 South African Grand Prix when Welsh driver Tom Pryce, driving for Shadow, struck Jansen van Vuuren along the main straight at Kyalami.

During the days after the race, a statement was issued by the Mexican national sporting authority (ASN), OMDAI, in which a series a screenshots were shared, alongside an explanation that pointed the finger of blame at Lawson for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags.

This statement was not the official FIA explanation, with the results of the investigation yet to be publicised. Following the OMDAI statement, the FIA followed up with a further statement in which the governing body absolved Lawson of any wrongdoing with regard to his driving under the yellow flags.

Unsurprisingly, the topic was a key one for the media to broach with Lawson in his first media appearance of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, with the Kiwi opting against slamming the premature statement put forward by OMDAI.

“I was very surprised,” he laughed, when asked if he had been surprised to read his alleged fault for the dangerous incident.

“I think the FIA statement was very clear and very accurate as well.

“I don’t really need to say too much more than what was put in that statement.

“It was obviously checked into everything that led to that happening, to the fact that they got caught out there, and then everything I did in the car to obviously slow down and avoid them and take a completely different line than what I’ve taken through the entire weekend, but yes, I was extremely surprised. Still am very surprised!”

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Liam Lawson reveals FIA apology

Lawson revealed he received an apology from the FIA on Sunday night following his scare.

“I had a talk with them, and I appreciated that a lot,” he said.

“I do understand we’re in a sport with a huge amount of variables, and these things, as much as they can’t happen again and they shouldn’t happen, there’s always a possibility of something like this.

“Obviously, what’s most important is that the actions taken now are to prevent it. So I didn’t have a problem with any of that.

“It was just the statement that came out, trying to accuse me of doing something.”

With the results of the official investigation yet to be concluded, Lawson said it appears that, at this stage, mixed messages and a miscommunication are seemingly predominantly to blame for the incident.

“I think there’s obviously being a much bigger investigation behind it now, which I’m sure I’ll get more details on as well, that’s involved the team and stuff like that, but, at the time, it was obviously a miscommunication,” he said.

“From my understanding, they were released onto the track and then recalled back, but, for whatever reason, they didn’t get that message, or they’d already left or something like that, from my understanding.”

With Lawson having pitted and hopeful of catching back up to the train of cars some 30 seconds up the road, he was asked whether he had been frustrated by the fact that he had had to back off entirely, further compromising his race, given the lack of Safety Car conditions that would have helped him close the gap.

“I was more concerned about the fact that these two guys were running across the track in front of me,” he said.

“In that moment, I had no idea what direction they were going to run.

“I tried to basically do as few direction changes as possible, so that they didn’t get spooked and change direction.

“So, at the time, that was really what I was thinking about. Anyway, we had a very damaged car, and it didn’t make a difference to our race.”

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