The Just Stop Oil protests became a serious problem in sport last season, as protestors dangerously invaded a number of high-profile sporting events.
In the football world, a number of football matches were halted due to the invasions, with an Everton FC fixture at Goodison Park being paused after a man in a Just Stop Oil t-shirt cable-tied himself to the goalpost.
At the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the protesters made their most dangerous protest yet, climbing the fences on the opening lap of the race and sitting down in a line to form a human blockade on the Hangar straight.
Luckily for everybody involved, the race did not actually get as far as the protesters on the opening lap, as Guanyu Zhou’s scary crash at Turn 1 red flagged the race, meaning the drivers slowed significantly before reaching that part of the track.
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Marshals managed to drag the five individuals off the track relatively quickly but had the red flag not occurred, the lives of the protestors, drivers and marshals would have been seriously at risk.
Following a two-week trial, Emily Brocklebank, Alasdair Gibson, Louis McKechnie, Bethany Mogie and Joshua Smith have been convicted, as has David Baldwin who was found with glue and cable ties in a nearby car park.
All six individuals denied causing a public nuisance and claims that they had created a risk of harm to themselves, the drivers and the marshals during the trial.
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After two days of considering all the evidence, the jury delivered its verdict on Friday afternoon, leaving the protesters to be sentenced on March 31st.
The incident comes as a reminder of how important safety and security is in Formula 1, with the protestors gaining access to the track way too easily.
The safety fence did a phenomenal job of protecting the fans from the hurtling Alfa Romeo of Guanyu Zhou, however it is inexcusable that people can enter the track and sit down in the middle of the circuit almost unopposed.