A frightening near-miss between Liam Lawson and two track marshals during last weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix has taken an unexpected twist – with Mexico’s motorsport federation, OMDAI, publicly blaming the driver for putting the marshals at risk.
The drama unfolded right after Lawson's opening-lap tangle with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, scattering car bits like confetti. Marshals dashed out to sweep up, waving double yellows to warn the pack.
After a pitstop to fit a new front wing, Lawson rejoined the proceedings only to stumble upon the two marshals carelessly scrambling across the track at Turn 1, just a few feet away from the Kiwi’s VCARB.
While OMDAI offered a detailed account and onboard screenshots of the incident, its claim that Lawson failed to slow sufficiently under yellow flags has raised eyebrows, given the FIA’s official investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
OMDAI Puts the Blame on Lawson
In a lengthy statement released Tuesday, OMDAI Sport Mexico didn’t hold back, painiting Lawson oas the villain in a risky ballet with safety crews.
“When analysing the sequence from the camera onboard the car, it can be seen that driver Liam Lawson, as he approaches Turn 1, begins to turn to take the racing line, at which point the presence of the track marshals is clearly visible as they carry out their intervention procedures to collect the pieces that had been left behind as a result of the previous contact,” the statement read.
“The proximity of the car to the work area shows that the track marshals were still active within the risky area, performing cleaning and safety tasks on the circuit.
“The images clearly show that driver Liam Lawson maintains the steering wheel angle of his car when taking Turn 1, without changing his trajectory, even though the track marshals were crossing the track to return to their post.
“This action occurs while personnel were still working in the area, which shows that the driver did not interrupt his line despite the obvious presence of marshals on the track.”
OMDAI’s statement appeared intent on proving the driver’s culpability, though the federation offered no explanation as to why the marshals were on a live section of track to begin with – a detail that many within the paddock view as the more pressing question.
Lawson's Side: ‘Unacceptable’ Marshal Dash
Lawson, meanwhile, was as stunned as anyone when he came face-to-face with two track workers during the race. Speaking afterward, the 23-year-old made clear his disbelief and concern.
“I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said. “I got to Turn 1 and there were two dudes just running across the track. And I nearly hit one of them. Honestly, it was so dangerous.
“Obviously, there's been a miscommunication somewhere, but I've never experienced that before, I've only seen that in the past. It’s pretty unacceptable.
“We obviously can’t understand how, on a live track, marshals can be allowed to just run across the track like that. I mean, I have no idea why, but I’m sure we’ll get some explanation.”
Questions Without Answers
While OMDAI’s analysis puts the spotlight on Lawson’s cockpit actions, the broader issue – how marshals came to be crossing a live F1 circuit – remains unresolved.
The FIA stewards notably did not investigate the matter during the race, and the governing body’s ongoing review is expected to determine whether race control or trackside protocols failed.
For now, Mexico’s national body has made its position clear. But its defensive tone – and focus on the driver rather than track management – has done little to quiet criticism that something went seriously wrong behind the scenes.
Lawson may have avoided disaster by inches, but the fallout is proving harder to dodge.
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