United States GP hit with fine for dangerous incident after F1 race | F1 | Sport
The organisers of the United States Grand Prix have received a fine worth £416,380 (€500,000) from the FIA for an early track invasion by spectators.
At the end of Sunday’s enthralling race at the Circuit of the Americas, spectators filtered onto the track on the start-finish straight while cards were still on their cooldown laps.
The FIA ruled that over 200 spectators had left the grandstand, climbed over a fence and dropped from a height of approximately two metres before jumping over another fence and a barrier to grant themselves entry to the track.
The invasion was viewed as a very dangerous series of events given the sheer number of cars still on their cooldown laps at the time, prompting the FIA into immediate action.
The incident was considered a serious breach of the FIA’s safety protocols and representatives from the United States Race Management and Circuit of the Americas were ordered to submit reports to the stewards on how the breach had unfolded.
After hearing all explanations, the FIA’s race stewards ruled that organisers of the race in Austin should be handed a fine for breaching their International Sporting Code by ‘failing to take reasonable measures’ to prevent an ‘unsafe incident’.
The overall fine is worth £416,380 (€500,000), though £291,450 (€350,000) is suspended until 31 December, 2026, as long as no other track incursions take place at the Circuit of the Americas at FIA events in the meantime.
The track must also now submit a plan to FIA to outline how they will prevent further dangerous incidents from occurring and assess other areas of the circuit to see whether spectators can make their way onto the track from different points.
