UPDATE: A fan has described how he was hit by flying debris at the Australian Grand Prix as organisers find themselves in hot water after crowds invaded the track at Albert Park before the conclusion of Sunday’s race.
Will Sweet was watching the race from the outside of turn two, when he was hit by part of a wheel rim when Kevin Magnussen crashed late in the race.
Sweet has told Nine’s Today, he was initially more gutted that his favourite driver was out of the race.
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“I don’t know how it wasn’t worse, to be honest,” he said.
“I was lucky I had a small radio pressed up against my ear, so I had my arm lifted up. I managed to get hit in the arm instead of anything worse.”
Sweet said it was pure luck that he was the only person to be injured.
“I think he tapped the wall with his rear wheel, and it just shredded the rim,” he explained.
“He goes careering down the track, so I turned to my right. Apparently in front of him a piece of his wheel had flown up over the barrier and it hit me in the arm.
“It was the only bit that came over and I was the only one that got hit.”
In 2001, a trackside marshal, Graham Beveridge, died at Albert Park when he was struck by a flying wheel after an accident at turn three.
Sweet said the vantage point was a “fantastic spot” and it would be hard to prevent a repeat.
“It was far too big to go through the fence, so it must have gone up and over,” he said.
“If rules have to change I have no idea what (could be done).”
Fans invade track at Australian Grand Prix
It comes as the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) was hauled before the stewards on Sunday night following a chaotic finish to the race.
According to the FIA, “a large group of spectators managed to break the security lines and accessed the track while the race was still ongoing.”
The race finished with a single lap behind the safety car after being red flagged on three separate occasions, the first time in F1 history a race had been stopped three times.
The record crowds were climbing safety fences before the chequered flag was shown, while stewards found that spectators were also able to reach the stranded car of Nico Hulkenberg, which “still had its light flashing red (i.e. the car was in an unsafe condition with possible electrical discharge”.
The AGPC was found in breach of Article 12.2.1.h of the FIA’s International Sporting Code and must “urgently present a formal remediation plan to the FIA” with stewards highlighting “serious concerns”.
”The security measures and the protocols which were expected to be in place for the event were not enforced resulting in an unsafe environment for the spectators, drivers and race officials,” stewards said.
The AGPC “candidly admitted failures in terms of the security protocols and safety measures and concurred with the FIA sporting delegate and the race director report and agreed that this was an unacceptable situation that could have had disastrous consequences,” the FIA found.
The AGPC has asked that it be given until June 30, 2023 to complete its review, which will also involve Victorian police.
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