A terrifying moment has been captured on camera when two track marshals ran in front of a car during Formula 1's Mexico City Grand Prix.
New Zealand racer Liam Lawson was at the back of the field and approaching a chicane during Monday's race while two marshals were running on the circuit itself.
The Racing Bulls driver slowed down to ensure he did not strike either of the two in a frightening moment captured on his onboard camera.
"Did you see that?" Lawson said on his team radio.
"Oh my God.
"I could have f***ing killed them, mate."
The marshals appeared to be collecting debris off the track after a chaotic start to the race won by McLaren's Lando Norris.
Lawson had come in for a pit stop in the opening laps to replace a damaged front wing. He came out of the pits and took the first turn, only to be confronted by the duo on the circuit.
"I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing," Lawson told media.
"Boxed [pitted], came out on a new set of hards [tyres], 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 international governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), released a statement that said an investigation would take place.
"Following a turn one incident, race control was informed that debris was present on the track at the apex of that corner," the FIA statement read.
"On lap three, marshals were alerted and placed on standby to enter the track and recover the debris once all cars had passed.
"As soon as it became apparent that Lawson had pitted, the instructions to dispatch marshals were rescinded and a double yellow flag was shown in that area.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."
F1 has taken a strong stance on safety in recent years following the death of Jules Bianchi who succumbed to injuries sustained after hitting a rescue vehicle that was collecting a stricken car inside the barriers during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
There was a similarly scary moment in Japan in 2022 when Pierre Gasly raced past a tractor on the track in low visibility.
