{'I could have killed them' - Lawson faces near miss with Formula 1 track officials
Formula 1 competitor Liam Lawson stated he narrowly avoided a life-threatening collision during Sunday's F1 event in Mexico when two safety personnel crossed the track directly in front of him
The concerning event happened on the third circuit when marshals were seen on the racing surface as Lawson was getting back on the race following an quick visit to the pits to replace his compromised front wing
Racer's Instant Response
Moments later, Racing Bulls driver Lawson spoke to his race engineer saying: "You've got to be joking? Did you witness that? I could have... killed them"
"I truly couldn't comprehend what I was witnessing"
"I came out on a new set of hards, and then I arrived at Turn One and suddenly there were two guys sprinting across the track"
"I came close to striking one of them, frankly, it was incredibly risky"
Safety Concerns Raised
"Clearly there's been a miscommunication somewhere but I've never experienced that before, and I haven't really seen that in the past. It's completely unacceptable"
"We cannot comprehend how on a ongoing race track safety personnel can be permitted to just sprint across the track in such a way. I have no idea why, I'm sure we'll get some sort of explanation, but this must never be repeated"
Governing Body Reviewing
The sport's regulatory authority, the FIA, is actively examining the events
"Subsequent to a first corner event, the race directors was notified that debris was present on the track at the critical section of that bend" stated the FIA
"In the third rotation, track officials were informed and placed on standby 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"The moment it was realized that Lawson had entered the pits, the instructions to dispatch marshals were withdrawn and a safety warning flag was displayed in that zone"
"The examination is ongoing what transpired subsequent to that time"
