The organisers of the Brazilian Grand Prix will be investigated by the FIA World Motor Sport Council after a group of fans managed to make their way over the catch fencing and onto the run-off area at turn one following the final lap of the race on Sunday.
As is the case with every purpose-built circuit on the F1 calendar, fans are able to make their way onto the track after the conclusion of the race procedures at Interlagos to get closer to the podium ceremony and maybe even get a glimpse of their favourite driver through the pit lane fencing.
However, at the Brazilian GP on Sunday, fans were able to overwhelm security and make their way over the catch fences and onto the run-off area at turn one before the event was over, thus getting a head start on fellow fans hoping to get closest to the post-race action.
Brazilian news organisation Metropoles even circulated a video of the incident on their X account that showed dozens of fans climbing over the fencing past security that was too thinly spread and too poorly equipped to deal with the volume of fans attempting to get onto the circuit.
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Thankfully no spectators were able to make their way onto the tarmac as the drivers were on track, but this mishap was another disaster for the organisers who were already forced to deal with structural damage to one of the grandstands following the monsoon conditions that hit the Interlagos circuit on Friday during qualifying.
The FIA released a document in the aftermath of the event confirming that “the Stewards hereby formally refer this incident to the FIA World Motor Sports Council for a further investigation to determine whether any additional steps need to be taken or penalties applied beyond the remediation plan presented by SPF1 (and reviewed by the FIA) to ensure the safe and orderly conduct of future events in Brazil.”
In the official FIA document, the reason for the investigation was stated as: “A large group of spectators managed to break the security lines and accessed the run off area at turn 1 while the race was finishing and cars were still on track.
“The security measures and/or security officers and/or equipment which were expected to be in place for the Event were not enforced and/or were not sufficient resulting in an unsafe environment for the spectators and drivers.”
