Perhaps nowhere in the world is the vital role played by motor sport marshals and safety officials more apparent than at the Monaco Grand Prix. The narrow city streets are steeped in history and glamour, but the speed and intensity of modern Formula 1 puts the spotlight on safety at every visit.
Undoubtedly the key to the safe running of the event is thorough, timely marshalling – something that we see year in, year out at Monaco. Following the 2016 race, which saw seven cars fail to finish, the podium trio were quick to give praise to the ever-professional marshals at the circuit.
“I’ve been racing for such a long time and seen thousands and thousands of marshals that turn up every year to look out for our safety and for sure it’s not mentioned anywhere near enough,” said race winner Lewis Hamilton. “So I would like to absolutely thank them. They do it for the love of the sport and I’m massively appreciative of them.
“Also being able to go on the track knowing that if something was to happen to me in the car, I’m confident that these guys could get me out to safety in the best way possible.”
Hamilton’s sentiments were echoed by pole-sitter and eventual runner-up Daniel Ricciardo, who added, “The marshals here are by far the best in the world. We obviously travel around the world and not taking anything away from wherever else we go, but the efficiency and the way they are able to clean up and keep the race going, basically keeping it exciting for the fans, letting us race but still doing it safety, it’s impressive, it’s impressive how they work here.”
Indeed, Ricciardo’s team-mate and winner of the Spanish Grand Prix last time out, Max Verstappen, ended both qualifying and the race in the barriers, but thanks to the hard work of the marshal teams there was minimal impact on the sessions. Ricciardo concluded, “There’s always crashes, there’s always incidents and yeah, they’re able to be very efficient and honestly keep us safe, as Lewis said. So I 100 per cent appreciate everything they do.”
In addition to it being the first ever race start at Monaco under safety car conditions, there were four virtual safety car periods to deal with the more serious instances of debris and damaged cars. The unforgiving barriers and tricky conditions meant there was a regular need to clear pieces of carbon fibre from the circuit, and that this was done in a safe and timely manner is testament to the professionalism of all involved.
Finally third-placed driver Sergio Perez, who knows better than most how unforgiving the streets of Monaco are having had a major accident in 2011, added his thanks to the team of marshals and safety officials. He said, “What I can say is that I remember my crash in 2011 and they did a fantastic job to get me out of the car in very difficult situations and in the end I just want to thank them because they do an extremely good job. I think it’s the most difficult track for that and they show how good they are, so I really want to thank them a lot for the job they do and their love of the sport. I think they are simply the best marshals in the world.”
Report by FIA
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