Just a week on from Esteban Ocon almost hitting several Formula 1 and FIA personnel on the final lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, another individual was nearly struck by an F1 car on Sunday after darting across the pit-lane.
As McLaren’s Lando Norris entered the pits on Lap 5/57 of the Miami Grand Prix, somebody ran across the pit-lane directly ahead of the British driver, who came terrifyingly close to striking the individual.
The incident occurred just a week after Ocon had to slam on the brakes as he entered the pits ahead of the final lap at the Baku City Circuit, to avoid hitting a crowd of people.
In Baku, the FIA reportedly gave personnel permission to set themselves up at parc ferme early, whilst seemingly being unaware that Ocon was still expected to pit.
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Had it not been for the Frenchman’s lightning reactions, several individuals would’ve been hit, in what would’ve been a horrific and potentially deadly incident.
To avoid such an incident ever again, the FIA updated their rules ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
The new rules for Miami were set out to prevent “mechanics from moving from their garages to the parc ferme”, and “other personnel or VIPs from entering the pit lane, until the last car has taken the chequered flag”.
The governing body also warned that “any infringement will result in the removal of passes from the team(s) in question from subsequent events, and potential reporting of the infringing team(s) to the stewards”.
With this in mind, fans watched on in disbelief as Norris nearly hit a person, with Sky Sports F1 having posted the Briton’s onboard of the near-miss onto social media, before deleting it.
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The FIA did acknowledge that they were “aware” of what happened and that it was being investigated accordingly.
“We are aware of the incident and looking into it with local organisers,” an FIA spokesperson told the PA news agency.
According to The Independent, it’s believed that the person who crossed the pit-lane ahead of Norris was a volunteer marshal, with it yet to be confirmed what action will be taken.