Northants Police have shared how protesters climbed over and sat on the middle of the Silverstone track during F1 British GP in 2022.
The Northants Police have released an unseen video of the track invasion that took place last year at Silverstone during the F1 British GP. Fortunately for the protesters the grand prix was already neutralised and red-flagged due to Zhou Guanyu’s crash.
Otherwise, there could have been serious consequences when the invaders jumped over the fence and sat on the middle of the track when the cars passed them at a slow pace. The drivers were shocked seeing them and radioed immediately.
By the time AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly passed them, the marshals arrived on scene and dragged them away. Only five of the six could get on the track as the sixth was stopped by marshal while he was trying to climb the fence.
The five who got on track – as per the police – were Emily Brocklebank, 24, of Yeadon, Leeds, Alasdair Gibson, 22, of Aberdeen, Bethany Mogie, 40, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, Joshua Smith, 29, of Manchester, and Louis McKechnie, 22, of Manchester.
Meanwhile, David Baldwin, 47, of Witney, Oxfordshire, was the one who was stopped by the marshal. All six were taken to the court and went through a trial between January 24 and February 10, where they were all found guilty by the jury.
“The actions of these six people could have had fatal consequences and had it not been for an incident at the beginning of the race which caused it to be red-flagged, they could have been facing cars going at speeds in excess of 200mph,” said lead investigator detective sergeant Cory Wise.
“They not only put their lives at risk but also those of the drivers, as well as the many marshals, volunteers and members of the public. This is completely unacceptable, whatever the cause or the reason, and we will always pursue action against people like this.
“Protesting is of course everyone’s human right in this country and we clearly communicated to this group before race day that we were more than willing to work with them to facilitate something peaceful, that didn’t endanger people’s lives, however they chose not to listen.
“I am pleased therefore that all six were found guilty today by the jury and I hope this case shows the seriousness with which we take incidents like this and that anything that puts innocent members of the public at risk will not be tolerated.”
At the same time, Silverstone’s Alex Lacey added: “We are incredibly grateful for the work Northamptonshire Police has done in bringing this complex case to trial and securing the successful convictions today. Silverstone works incredibly closely with the Force in the run-up to and staging of the British Grand Prix to ensure we deliver a safe and secure weekend and we will continue to maintain that close bond going forward into this year’s event and beyond.”
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