F1 Australian GP Safety Questioned After Spectator Claims He Got Hit by Debris

(Photo : (Photo by Peter van Egmond/Getty Images)) MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on April 02, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia.

More drama came out of the Australian GP after a Formula One (F1) fan claimed that he got hit by a piece of debris from Kevin Magnussen's car that cut his arm, further putting in question the safety protocols put in place by the organizer.

The Guardian reported that during the race last Sunday, Will Sweet was standing on a hill packed with spectators just off turn two at Albert Park when Magnussen's car hit the track-side barrier, sending the tyre of the Danish Haas driver, along with debris, flying into the air.

In a radio interview, Sweet noted that it could have been worse if it had hit his fiancee standing beside him, as it would have hit her in the head.

According to Sweet, "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."

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Not the first time

This is not the first time that an incident happened during the Australian GP as a more tragic event occurred in 2001 wherein a flying wheel from the BAR-Honda of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve killed spectator marshal Graham Beveridge.

However, the FIA, the motorsports governing body, did not hold the organizers responsible for Beveridge's death because the marshal was not standing where he was supposed to be when he got hit by the wheel that flew through a gap in the safety fence provided for photographers.

The injured spectator will add to the organizers' growing list of problems, as also last Sunday, F1 stewards had ordered Australian Grand Prix Corporation to immediately come up with a "remediation plan" after fans accessed the track following a security and safety failure, which stewards admitted.

Verstappen notches first Australian Grand Prix win

The chaos during the Australian GP peaked when Red Bull's Max Verstappen bagged his first Australian GP victory. It was Red Bull's first win in Melbourne since 2011. And while it was expected, events in the latter stages made the victory hard-fought.

Flanking Verstappen in the podium at second was seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, while Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso completed the podium finishers.