With the ever-growing surge in the sport’s popularity, the coveted VIP guest passes have been vanishing in the blink of an eye. Many privileged guests get invited by teams to witness the races with the best experience. Among these distinguished attendees at the Spanish GP was Lewis Hamilton‘s friend and Puma Motorsport guest, Neymar. However, a recent incident involving the soccer legend has cast a shadow of uncertainty for guests in the future.
Shortly before the Spanish GP, Neymar was positioned at the edge of the grass on the main straight as the formation lap began. With safety being the number one priority in F1, the FIA is pondering new ways to make the sport safer, and restricting access could be one of them.
What did Neymar do?
Before the F1 race, the starting grid is usually swamped with people who may not be familiar with the dangers of the sport and the rules associated with their presence on the grid. While the teams and drivers prep for the race, sponsors, celebrities, journalists, and VIP guests stroll around the track.
Usually, they are expected to leave the track well in advance. However, in Barcelona, the procedure got mixed up. During the warm-up laps, many guests, including Neymar, were still on the grass strip at the start-finish straight.
The FIA has described this as a fundamental problem, that persists “not only in F1, but also in Formula E, the endurance world championship and in other racing series.”
What does the FIA have to say?
The FIA took full responsibility for the incident, stating it is their duty to create a safer environment. President Ben Sulayem stated, “We must learn lessons from the incident at the Spanish Grand Prix.”
Stefano Domenicali had also chimed in, “assured the FIA that measures will be taken to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”
Additionally, this is the second incident in this season. At the Australian GP, numerous fans entered the track while the cooldown lap was underway. The FIA expects a detailed report of this incident in the coming days.
