The FIA says it is taking “very seriously” the incident that saw a Marina Bay Circuit marshal still on track when last Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix resumed following an early Safety Car period.
The race neutralisation was quickly decided after Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz tangled at the start, which left the main straight littered with debris and a stranded Force India.
The interruption ended after only a couple of laps, by which time a marshal was still clearing the approach to Turn 1. The man then darted back across to his post and reached the opposite wall seconds before race leader Nico Rosberg stormed past with the entire field in hot pursuit.
The FIA’s restart protocol states that race control must confirm the circuit is clear by calling “track clear” three times before the Safety Car can return to the pits.
It appears that the hapless marshal was sent out to retrieve a piece of debris by a circuit official after the “track clear” procedure had been followed.
Speaking to Autosport, an FIA spokesperson said the protocol was not “properly executed”, adding that F1’s governing body will launch an investigation into the incident.
“We take this very seriously. We're not trying to put the blame on a single people. Everything will be done to ensure this does not happen again.”
Rosberg described the episode as “a hairy moment”, while Mercedes motorsport boss labelled it as “very dangerous”.
Last year’s Singapore Grand Prix already saw a person on Marina Bay’s street circuit during the race, though this was a fan who had jumped on to the track.
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