The FIA summoned to the stewards the organisers of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix following a live track invasion that took place at the end of Sunday’s event.
Shortly after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had taken the checkered flag at Interlagos to claim his 17th win of the season, and prior to the agreed time when the circuit's gates were scheduled to open, a large group of spectators breached the barriers at Turn 1 and accessed what was still a live track.
Several cars were still completing their cool down lap when fans took it upon themselves to climb over the fences, with officials reportedly losing control of the situation.
Last weekend’s round of racing in Brazil enjoyed a fully-booked attendance of 267,000 spectators, but F1’s governing body did not take lightly to the breaches.
After reviewing CCTV evidence and hearing from the race organisers, the FIA concluded that safety measures were "not enforced and/or were not sufficient resulting in an unsafe environment".
"[Organisers] candidly admitted the failures in terms of the security protocols and safety measures,” stated the governing body.
"[They] concurred with the FIA Sporting Delegate and the Race Director report and agreed that comparable circumstances already occurred in Brazil and that this was an unacceptable situation which could have had disastrous consequences."
Earlier this year, the organisers of the Australian Grand Prix also found themselves in breach of the FIA’s rules following a track invasion at Albert Park. On that occasion, spectators were was able to approach the stranded Haas car of Nico Hulkenberg who had stopped during his in-lap and abandoned his in an "unsafe condition" as it "still had its light flashing red".
The FIA subsequently requested that the promoter "urgently present a formal remediation plan to the FIA".
The Brazilian organisers will follow a similar procedure and present to the FIA by 30 January 2024 “a formal remediation plan that adequately addresses the serious concerns".
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