‘I could have killed them’: Lawson’s fury after narrowly missing hitting marshals
Liam Lawson issued a damning broadside after he narrowly missed hitting two marshals on track at the Mexico City Grand Prix, warning that he could have killed them and branding it dangerous and unacceptable.In the race which was won in dominant form by McLaren’s Lando Norris, the Racing Bulls driver had started in 15th place but took damage on the opening lap and made an immediate pit stop.When he emerged from the pit lane he was confronted with two marshals running across the track having been clearing debris from the opening corners directly in front of the New Zealander.“Mate.Oh my god, are you kidding me? Did you just see that?” he said to his engineer on team radio.
“I could have fucking killed them.”After the race he was outraged that the marshals had been placed in such danger apparently without being informed that he was out of time with the rest of the field after pitting early.“I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” he said.“Boxed, came out and then I got to turn one and there were just two dudes running across the track.I nearly hit one of them, honestly, it was so dangerous.
Obviously there’s been a miscommunication somewhere but I’ve never experienced that before and I haven’t really seen that in the past,“It’s pretty unacceptable,We can’t understand how on a live track marshals can be allowed to just run across the track like that,I have no idea why, I’m sure we’ll get some sort of explanation, but it really can’t happen again,”The FIA issued a statement afterwards stating it was investigating what had happened as instructions for marshals to enter the track had been revoked.
“Following a turn one incident, race control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner.On lap three, marshals were alerted and placed on standby to enter the track and recover the debris once all cars had passed turn one,” the statement read.“As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded, and a double yellow flag was shown in that area.We are still investigating what occurred after that point.”Norris also brushed off booing he received from the crowd after his victory, apparently aimed at the British driver because Mexican fans perceived it had been unfair that he had been given back a place he lost to Piastri after a slow pit stop under team orders at Monza.
In a poll Mexicans had voted that he should return the three points.“They have the right to do it if they want to do it, that’s sport sometimes,” he said.“I don’t know why I can’t stop laughing when I get booed.I think it makes it more entertaining for me, so they can keep doing it if they want.”
Timely assurance from Lear’s Kent | Letters
The passing of John Woodvine (Obituary, 13 October) reminded me of the time when four of us University of East Anglia students went to the Norwich Theatre Royal to see the Actors’ Company touring King Lear in June 1974.We were early and went for a something to eat at a newly opened “burger” style restaurant with booths and partitions so you couldn’t see who was at adjacent tables – a novelty at the time. The service was very slow and we were concerned that we would be late for the theatre.Suddenly a head appeared over the partition and said: “Don’t worry – they won’t start without me!” It was John Woodvine, who turned out to be the Earl of Kent and was the first to speak in the play. Needless to say we made it in time
The Guide #214: Sleep-inducing songs and tranquilising TV – the culture that sends us to sleep (in a good way)
How do you sleep at night? If you’re like Hannah, a recent subject of the Guardian’s My cultural awakening column, it’s to the sound of a rat whisking eggs. The series shares stories of people who made a significant life change thanks to a piece of popular culture, and in the case of Hannah, that meant curing insomnia by watching Ratatouille. Every night for the last 15 years, at home or abroad, she switches on the Pixar classic and, within minutes, finds herself dropping off, thanks to the film’s comforting, consistent soundscape. It’s so effective, in fact, she’s never even seen it all the way through.Hannah’s might be a bit of an extreme example, but her tale does touch on something universal: culture seems to play an increasingly important role these days in helping people nod off
Seth Meyers on Trump’s White House ballroom: ‘This couldn’t be any more of a bait and switch’
Late-night hosts mocked Donald Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House and the corporate sponsors of his $300m gilded ballroom.On Thursday’s Late Night, Seth Meyers expressed disbelief over the president’s gilded ballroom project for the White House. “It would be bad enough if Trump’s biggest priority was just building a gilded vanity project for himself, but it’s so much worse,” he said. “Because to do it, he’s tearing down a somewhat well-known and beloved piece of property.”That would be the entire East Wing of the presidential residence, which has stood for 120 years
Seth Meyers on Trump’s White House demolition: ‘This is insane’
Late-night hosts dissected Donald Trump’s kingly behavior, from the destruction of the White House’s East Wing to his demand for payment from the justice department.“We have warned for years that Donald Trump is destroying American institutions,” said Seth Meyers on Wednesday evening, “but of course when we said ‘destroying’, we meant metaphorically speaking. We didn’t mean that he was literally destroying buildings.”“But I guess Trump heard that and thought, ‘On it.’ Because now he’s literally destroying the East Wing of the White House,” the Late Night host continued
Toe-curling fashion: how did toe shoes become so popular?
Caitlin, I am a big proponent of not yucking someone else’s yum. But this is testing me. What are on those girlies’ feet?They’re toes, Cait. They’re toes. More specifically, toes encased in rubber to create a kind of foot-glove-trainer
Stephen Colbert on Trump’s White House East Wing demolition: ‘So deeply unsettling’
Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump’s partial demolition of the East Wing of the White House for his proposed $250m gilded ballroom.“At this point, we’re nine months into this, you’d think it would be impossible for us to be shocked by Donald Trump,” said Stephen Colbert on Tuesday’s Late Show. “But give the man credit – every so often, he takes the time to attach the electrodes to our nipples. And then it feels like the first time.”Case in point: on Monday, as part of his White House renovation project to construct a gilded ballroom, Trump sent out a backhoe to rip off a part of the East Wing
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