Climate activist group Just Stop Oil has claimed responsibility for the incidents at the British GP on Sunday. Several protesters jumped the circuit barrier next to the Wellington Straight bridge and sat on the track.
The race was red-flagged after Guanyu Zhou’s terrifying crash at the first corner, when then-event leader Max Verstappen ran into protesters before stewards reached the scene.
Northamptonshire Police, who had already received “credible information” on Friday that a protest could take place, later issued a statement confirming that seven people had been arrested.
In response to the unrest, Stefano Domenicali , CEO of Formula 1, has lashed out at protesters for their “completely irresponsible and dangerous actions” that put “lives in danger”.
The F1 boss said: “Everyone has the right to express themselves on issues, but no one has the right to put lives in danger.”
“The actions of a small group of people this Sunday were completely irresponsible and dangerous.”
“We are grateful to the police for their great work, and we must not be complacent about the risk that this posed to the safety of the drivers, the marshals, the fans and the individuals themselves.”
The Italian had previously told Sky Sports that although “you can protest what you want”, what happened at Silverstone was “ridiculous to watch… that’s the least I can say”.
However, the pilots have given some support to the environmental cause of the protest although they have condemned the way chosen to vindicate it.
At the press conference, Lewis Hamilton, who finished on the podium, said: “I love that people fight for the planet and we need more people like them.”
His Mercedes team had to go out to clarify and qualify those words, issuing a statement that said: “Lewis supported their right to protest, but not the method they chose, which compromised their safety and that of others.”
The seven-time champion then added on Twitter : “Please don’t jump onto our circuits to protest, we don’t want to put you in danger.”
Although some drivers said they didn’t realize there were people on track on the first lap, Charles Leclerc – then running fourth after being overtaken by Hamilton – said: “I thought they were stewards, I think because they were wearing orange jerseys. “.
“Then I looked and there were things written that I didn’t read, because we were going too fast.”
French driver Esteban Ocon added his concern about the increase in this type of incident: “The speed at which I was going was not too dangerous, but I don’t know if the other drivers saw them at the start, they were occupying a large area of the track.”
“At the moment, we are seeing too many incidents like this. At the French Open tennis we saw something similar.”
“And you see quite a few in France, on the road, on the motorway…”.
“I mean, I understand some ideas, but this is risking his life. And that can’t happen,” Alpine concluded.
