FIA address Liam Lawson’s marshal near-miss and controversial VSC at Mexico City GP
FIA address two key issues at the Mexico City Grand Prix
The FIA has released a statement addressing two controversial moments at the 2025 F1 Mexico City Grand Prix.
The first occurred in the early stages of the race.
Liam Lawson encountered two marshals on track who were clearing debris at the apex of the corner.
The Kiwi narrowly avoided hitting the marshals, preventing a potentially serious accident.
Lawson reported on team radio: “Mate.. Oh my god, are you kidding me? Did you just see that?”
He later added: “I could have fu**ing killed them mate.”
Addressing the incident, the FIA said: “Following a Turn 1 incident, Race Control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner.
“On lap 3, marshals were alerted and placed on standby to enter the track and recover the debris once all cars had passed Turn 1.
“As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded, and a double yellow flag was shown in that area. We are still investigating what occurred after that point.”
VSC for Sainz
The final stages of the Mexico City GP were disrupted by a Virtual Safety Car.
This was caused by Carlos Sainz’s stricken Williams, which had stopped in a runoff area in the final sector.
Despite the car being off the track, a VSC was deployed by race control.
This prevented Max Verstappen from challenging Charles Leclerc for second place and denied Oscar Piastri the opportunity to attack Ollie Bearman.
Defending the decision, the FIA clarified: “Later in the race on lap 70, Sainz spun and stopped in the runoff area on the outside of Turn 14. His car came to a halt in an exposed position. The car subsequently began smoking and race control received notifications of fire, making it clear that marshal intervention would be required for recovery.
“As is standard procedure when marshals are deployed to recover a car, the race is neutralised. In this case, a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was triggered until the car was moved to a safe location behind the barriers.
“The VSC ended as soon as the car was in a protected position, and the race concluded under green-flag conditions.”
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