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Earlier this week the FIA officially cleared Liam Lawson of any blame for the incident in Mexico, where marshals entered the track too early while his car was still moving. The New Zealander walked away without penalty, but the episode exposed how thin the safety margin can be during a tight Sprint weekend. The governing body has promised improvements, but what exactly will change in São Paulo?
What went wrong in Mexico
In the closing stages of the Mexican Grand Prix, Lawson stopped his AlphaTauri at the side of the track with mechanical problems. Moments later, several marshals ran onto the circuit to recover the car, even though it was not yet completely stationary. The FIA later confirmed that a communication error occurred between race control and local officials.
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The problem was not Lawson’s driving but the premature release of the track. In a Sprint weekend, where sessions follow each other quickly, even a small lapse in timing can have serious consequences. “The communication between race control and the marshals was not perfect,” admitted an FIA spokesperson.
How responsibilities are divided
Track safety depends on three groups: race control, the national ASN (the country’s motorsport authority) and the drivers. Race control decides when the circuit is safe, the ASN
executes those commands, and drivers obey the visual flags. In Mexico the chain broke between steps two and three. A marshal post received the “clear” signal while Lawson’s car was still moving.
“It sounds simple, but these mistakes happen in half a second,” said a former race director. “A marshal sees a slow car and assumes it has stopped, but in that moment, anything can happen.”
For São Paulo the FIA has introduced an additional two-step confirmation rule: the track may only be declared clear once both the local post and race control confirm that the car has stopped and been moved out of the neutral zone.
Why the Sprint format makes it harder
Sprint weekends compress the entire race schedule into two intense days. That leaves little time for resets or long safety meetings between sessions. Procedures must therefore be sharper and communication faster.
According to FIA sources, Brazil will use a digital release checklist for the first time. Each marshal post must confirm electronically that the track is clear, allowing race control to see potential errors in real time.
Visibility has also been improved. In Interlagos’ second sector, the number of marshals with direct radio contact has doubled from two to four, ensuring faster communication without relying on intermediaries.
What this tells us about risk
The Lawson incident was minor, but the timing was a warning. Sprint weekends demand maximum focus from everyone — drivers, teams and officials. A single lapse can have outsized consequences.
The FIA remains committed to the Sprint format but recognises that its intensity requires tighter systems. “We must design procedures that stay safe even when one person makes a mistake,” the organisation said in a statement.
If the new checks work, the Mexico scare might end up having a positive legacy: a reminder that safety in Formula 1 begins not with the driver, but with every link in the chain.
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