Liam Lawson blamed for frightening near-miss with F1 marshals

Liam Lawson has been blamed by Mexico’s motorsport federation for a near-miss involving two marshals at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Marshals were deployed to clear up debris on the exit of Turn 1 after contact was made on the opening lap of the race.

However, Liam Lawson pitted at the end of the first lap after picking up damage and returned to the circuit where he faced two marshals removing the debris.

The FIA communicated that it sent a message to the marshal stations that Lawson had pitted and was dislodged from the rest of the pack, insisting it will continue to carry out an investigation as to why marshals were still on the track when Lawson rejoined.

Mexico's motorsport federation, however, has conducted its own review into the situation and concluded Lawson did not drive appropriately in the incident.

“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,” read a statement.

“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 analyzing 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 ,arshals 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.”

Lawson was furious in the immediate aftermath of the incident and voiced his anger over the danger posed on the team radio.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365 after the race, Lawson labelled it as “dangerous” and “unacceptable”.