The organisers of the United States Grand Prix have received a fine worth £416,380 (€500,000) from the FIA for an early track invasion by spectators.
At the end of Sunday’s enthralling race at the Circuit of the Americans, spectators filtered onto the track on the start-finish straight while cards were still on their cooldown laps.
The FIA ruled that over 200 spectators had left the grandstand, climbed over a fence and dropped from a height of approximately two metres before jumping over another fence and a barrier to grant themselves entry to the track.
The invasion was viewed as a very dangerous series of events given the sheer number of cars still on their cooldown laps at the time, prompting the FIA into immediate action.
The incident was considered a serious breach of the FIA’s safety protocols and representatives from the United States Race Management and Circuit of the Americas were ordered to submit reports to the stewards on how the breach had unfolded.
After hearing all explanations, the FIA’s race stewards ruled that organisers of the race in Austin should be handed a fine for breaching their International Sporting Code by ‘failing to take reasonable measures’ to prevent an ‘unsafe incident’.
