Formula One’s governing body will investigate an incident that saw cars cleared to race while a marshal was still on track during the Singapore Grand Prix.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) said a report would be carried out to ensure such a situation was not repeated.
Autosport.com quoted a spokesman saying procedures were not “properly executed” by the clerk of the course and team of officials.
The marshal was helping remove track debris after the safety car was deployed at the end of the first lap following Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg’s crash into the pitwall at the start.
Close call for this marshal #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/FHHY8WNnPe
— easyodds.com (@easy_odds) September 18, 2016
The cars were released again at the start of lap three but, despite race control confirming three times with the clerk of the course that the track was clear of people and material, one marshal was still out there.
Pictures showed him sprinting to the side of the circuit as the field, led by the Mercedes’ race winner Nico Rosberg, bore down on him.
“It was very dangerous,” Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff told reporters. “I’m really happy it ended up with nobody being hurt.”
The Austrian said race control had been asked to re-start races sooner, rather than cars having to spend too long behind the safety car, and that request had been heard.
Rosberg said the incident had been “pretty hairy”.
“I think just as we didn’t expect the re-start, he didn’t either because the re-start was somehow pretty abrupt. Luckily he got out of the way just about in time so it was OK.”
The marshal was not the only inadvertent track invader. On Saturday a giant monitor lizard ran onto the circuit.
Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull, was coming into the third turn on Saturday when he spotted the reptile.
“There’s a giant lizard on the track,” he told his teammates on the radio.
“I’m not joking!”
The lizard ran off the track just after Verstappen passed it, narrowly avoiding a collision with another driver behind him.
“You came face-to-face with Godzilla,” Verstappen’s engineer joked after the incident.
Reuters contributed to this report
