Home

F1

Watch: When Sergio Perez Almost Ran Over a Marshal in a Heart-Stopping Moment

Published 04/14/2020, 5:14 AM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

During Formula One races, aside from the drivers, the track marshals are the most vulnerable out on the circuits. When it comes to circuits like Monte Carlo, the danger factor increases tenfold. In today’s day and age, marshal fatalities are quite rare, but there is always the lingering danger. Racing Point driver Sergio Perez found that out the hard way when he almost collided with two of them.

There have been a few incidents involving drivers and marshals over the years. The most notorious one resulted in the deaths of Tom Pryce and Frederik “Frikkie” Jansen van Vuuren. For the two, it was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Van Vuuren and fellow marshal, William, entered the live circuit without permission, and the former paid a heavy toll. When Pryce’s car struck the unfortunate van Vuuren, a fire extinguisher from the latter’s hands struck the Welshman on the head.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Another notable incident took place during the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, involving Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher. A stray wheel from Villeneuve’s car struck Graham Beveridge, killing him in the process. Finally, another track marshal suffered fatal injuries during the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix.

Perez near-miss with marshall – Monaco 2019 from formula1

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

What happened between Sergio Perez and the marshals?

Apparently, the Mexican driver happened to exit the pit lane a couple of seconds before the incident. The marshals were clearing debris at the time, when a startled Perez exited the pit lane and nearly bore down upon them. There was no red light at the pit exit and the marshals probably weren’t aware that there was a car coming from pit lane.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Luckily, the experienced Mexican had the presence of mind to brake and allow safe passage for one of them. The other marshal paused briefly to left the pink Racing Point car pass before carrying on. Additionally, Perez should be lauded for maintaining his trajectory, when instinct screamed at him to swerve out of the way.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest F1 stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

However, swerving could have had devastating consequences for everyone involved. This is because, drivers are allowed to get up to racing speed when they exit the pit lane, so a collision, would have been devastating.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,311Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>