Fan hit by Magnussen’s flying debris in Australian GP

Darshan Chokhani

2 years ago

A fan had cuts after a flying debris from Kevin Magnussen’s car hit him during his crash in F1 Australian GP.

It seems like Haas has been in news for all the wrong reasons aftermath of F1 Australian GP weekend. The unusual crash of Magnussen first kicked-off late dramas and a subsequent stop from Nico Hulkenberg on track forced the FIA to summon the organisers.

The German’s car was found to be ‘live’ with a ERS issue when he was asked to stop and leave the car at Turn 2. With no one around, F1 fans came near Hulkenberg’s car which forced the FIA to summon Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

The AGPC admitted to security breach as several areas had fans thronging to the Albert Park circuit post-race and some were seen climbing the fence even. There will be thorough investigations as per outgoing head Andrew Westacott.

“We work every year to allow the fans to access the track, at the end of the track, after the cars have passed,” he said to media. “This was clearly a breach of what is a very robust protocol, a protocol that’s been developed and improved every year.

“We’ve gone out and had a look at the area this morning, and we’re going to make sure that we do a thorough investigation as we’ve been requested.” This is the second instance of such situation after 2017 and the matter will be referred to WMSC.

This was not it for the AGPC as reports emerged of a fan being hit by the flying debris from Magnussen’s car after he clipped the wall and his wheel flew onto the circuit. The grand prix was red-flagged even though the Dane managed to safely stop the car Turn 4.

Speaking to 3AW Radio, Will Sweet recalled the moments of shock and even joy from the grand prix. He stated that he was saved since he had his hand covering his neck which suffered cuts. The debris – part of the wheel rim – is now a souvenir for him.

“Magnussen goes flying down the track and then all of a sudden, something hits me in the arm and a bunch of people start running around, scrambling,” said Sweet who was on the hill near Turn 2 with his fiancee and friends. “It slapped me in the arm and I was just standing there bleeding. My arm was covering where my neck would’ve been, but if that had hit my fiancee, it would’ve got her right in the head.

“When I picked up the piece of wheel, someone else managed to let me get it, I realised how big it was and how heavy it was. Part of it was shredded and really sharp, if it hit me in a different angle, it could’ve been horrendous. No one even came and looked. My fiancee was pretty spooked by it and borderline shell-shocked.

“Because it was a really dramatic finish, we sort of stood and watched the end of the race … we eventually went to the St John’s ambulance and they patched me up there. Somehow it’s gone up and over [the fence] and it came from quite a height as well, so it went straight up, way over the fence, and managed to land in the crowd, and we were in a really packed hill on the side of corner two,” summed up Sweet.

The organisers, meanwhile, are aware of the situation and termed it as a freak incident for which no one can be prepared even with the current safety fence in place. Westacott will try and arrange a meet between Magnussen and Sweet as a gesture.

“It looks as though it was a freak one-off because you can’t necessarily have the safety and degree fences going 20 meters in the air,” he said. “The debris fences are consistent around the world. We’re compliant with our FIA regulations, but like everything in motorsport, and like everything in major events, you do debriefs at the end of the event, and we’ll investigate and see what we can do to improve.

“Regarding the hit, we’re going to reach out given Sweet is a Magnussen fan … I’m sure that we can organise something through Guenther and the team at Haas. I hope the guy is OK, I’m glad his fiancee next to him as well wasn’t injured and it’s a reminder that safety is paramount when it comes to Formula 1 and motorsport more broadly.”

Here’s the images from Will Sweet: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqj_mR0PWi7/?hl=en