Australian Grand Prix fan in CLOSE ESCAPE after Magnussen debris left him bleeding

Australian Grand Prix

Australian GP fan in CLOSE ESCAPE after Magnussen debris left him bleeding

Safety protocols at the Australian Grand Prix will now come under further scrutiny after a fan got injured trackside

Stuart Hodge

Monday 3 April 2023 08:59

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An F1 fan has been left bleeding after being struck by debris from Kevin Magnussen's car at the Australian Grand Prix.

Will Sweet told local Melbourne radio station 3AW he suffered a cut to his arm when standing on a packed hill close to turn two at Albert Park, after the Haas driver's car struck a trackside barrier sending his tyre and flying debris into the air.

Pictures emerged on Australian media of Sweet with a bloody arm and the piece of debris which got past the safety fence, putting the spotlight once again on organisers' safety protocols after a large number of fans also invaded the track near the end of the race – an incursion race chiefs deemed an "unacceptable" security and safety failure.

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According to Sweet, the debris from his favourite driver's car flew "straight up, way over the fence" before it struck him.

"It slapped me in the arm and I was just standing there bleeding," he said.

"My arm was covering where my neck would’ve been, but if that had hit my fiancée, it would’ve got her right in the head.

"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."

JUST IN: Will Sweet was hit by his favourite driver @KevinMagnussen’s flying debris in yesterday’s race. It left a deep cut on his arm. He didn’t even get to keep the mangled metal - other fans took off with it. @sunriseon7 #7newsmelb #GrandPrix2023 pic.twitter.com/OfC6Z0S3mL
— Teegan Dolling (@tdolling) April 2, 2023

F1 fan claims no race officials came to help

It brings to mind memories of the tragic incident at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, where a track marshal was killed after being struck by a wheel following a crash between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher.

Once more it came from an incident where a car lost a wheel, as that fate befell Magnussen in Sunday's race, although this time it was a piece of the car's bodywork which struck Sweet.

After being struck by the debris whilst standing trackside with his fiancée, he went to the medical area for treatment but claims no race officials came to assist him after the initial incident.

"No one even came and looked," added Sweet. "My fiancée was pretty spooked by it and borderline shell-shocked."

An investigation was prompted after fans invaded the track at Albert Park

The incident raises further questions about security as a crowd of 131,124 on Sunday, and almost 450,000 attended Albert Park across the race week.

After the track invasion towards the end of the race, Formula 1 stewards ordered the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) to urgently produce a "remediation plan".

The AGPC has yet to provide comment on this incident.