After years of failed attempts, Liberty Media finally broke into the US market a few years ago. They managed to keep up the progress with the 2023 United States GP being a grand success. However, things could have been much worse for the race organizers after a recently surfaced video showed the horror show that a camera crew had to face at the event in Austin.
The situation involved a camera crew operating from a helicopter over the track. Following the race, the helicopter descended in altitude to get a closer shot of the track and the drivers. However, the post-race fireworks went off immediately and the helicopter found itself between a field of exploding fireworks.
F1 narrowly avoided an unspeakable disaster at @COTA last weekend when the camera helicopter was (audibly) struck by fireworks as it hovered over the track. A full investigation is necessary and corrective actions MUST be taken.
📸: combat_learjet | Katelyn Nassar#USGP 🇺🇲 #F1 pic.twitter.com/fDwgL2e2Mh
— Bryson Sullivan 🇺🇲 (@NaturalParadigm) October 27, 2023
As per the video’s caption, the helicopter was even hit by a firework but fortunately, the pilot managed to make a quick escape. A huge disaster was evaded by the quick thinking and action of the pilot. Otherwise, it could have been extremely unfortunate.
The incident was extremely ironic given the fact that it happened on the same day when the FIA decided to alter the race results due to technical issues related to safety concerns.
Safety Issues in Austin caused disqualification for Hamilton and Leclerc
The United States GP was witness to a close battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen with the Briton finishing P2, close behind Verstappen. However, Hamilton was then disqualified from the race after the FIA spotted a breach in the safety regulations.
Charles Leclerc also suffered the same fate and was disqualified from P6. The reason behind both of these disqualifications was that the skid planks at the bottom of their cars had worn away much more than the allowed amount.
A fascinating insight from Blake Hinsey on why Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified in Austin 🔍 pic.twitter.com/oPJLGEKL7N
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 24, 2023
The skid blocks are simply planks of wood composite or fiberglass put under the floor of F1 cars to ensure a minimum ride height. These were introduced as a safety measure in F1 following the tragic death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 and has remained since then.
The disqualification put a massive dent in Hamilton’s pursuit of P2 in the championship. The Mercedes driver was 30 points behind Perez before the US GP weekend and as of now, he lags behind by 39 points. Without the disqualification, he would have managed to claim 18 more points and would have closed down the gap even more.
Similarly, Leclerc also fell behind Norris in the standings due to the disqualification. While the drivers had to pay the price for not adhering to safety regulations, F1 seems to have evaded all accountability as no update is still available regarding the helicopter issue.
