{'I could have killed them' - Lawson experiences close call with F1 marshals
Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson stated he came dangerously close to a potentially deadly accident during Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix when two safety personnel ran across the track right in his path
The concerning event happened on the third lap when marshals were seen on the circuit as Lawson was rejoining the race following an quick visit to the pits to change his damaged front wing
Driver's Immediate Reaction
Moments later, Racing Bulls driver Lawson communicated to his team engineer saying: "Are you kidding me? Could you believe what happened? I nearly... ended their lives"
"I truly couldn't comprehend what I was observing"
"I rejoined with a fresh hard compound tires, and then I approached Turn One and there were just two dudes running across the track"
"I nearly hit one of them, frankly, it was extremely hazardous"
Safety Concerns Raised
"Evidently there's been a failure in communication somewhere but This is the first time I've faced that before, and I haven't previously witnessed that in the past. It's pretty unacceptable"
"We cannot comprehend how on a live track safety personnel can be allowed to just run across the track in that manner. I don't understand the reason, I'm sure we'll get some form of reasoning, but it really can't happen again"
Official Investigation Underway
F1's overseeing organization, the global motorsport federation, is actively examining the circumstances
"Following a turn one incident, track officials was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner" commented the FIA
"On lap three, track officials were notified and put on alert to go onto the racing surface and remove the wreckage once every vehicle had gone by"
"The moment it was realized that Lawson had entered the pits, the directives to deploy officials were rescinded and a safety warning flag was raised in that area"
"The examination is ongoing what transpired subsequent to that time"