Lawson was forced to pit early in the race after a collision with Williams’ Carlos Sainz at the very first turn caused damage to his front wing. It was a moment that was somewhat lost among the chaos, as several drivers were forced off the track early on, but one that was damning for the Kiwi’s hopes.
The 23-year-old was racing on the outside of the track heading into the corner and, in what appeared to be a bid to avoid one of the Sauber cars on his inside, Sainz swerved to his left and into Lawson’s path.
Both cars went off the track, but while they were able to continue, Lawson was forced to head into the pits on just the second lap of the race for a change of front wing and switching from soft compound tyres to hards.
Not long after returning to the track, Lawson got a bit too close for comfort as marshals were clearing debris, seemingly unaware Lawson was so far behind the rest of the pack.
While the pit lane at the race in Mexico has a 80km/h speed limit, Lawson was driving on the track at pace.
“What the f***? Oh my god, are you kidding me? Did you just see that?” Lawson said over his team radio.
“I could have f***ing killed him, mate.”
Lawson was commended for being able to avoid the marshals by race engineer Ernesto Desiderio, and continued into the race.
The Kiwi driver told media after the race he would be seeking clarification as to how it was allowed to happen.
“Yeah for sure, we obviously 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, but I’m sure we’ll get some explanation, but it really can’t happen again.”
The incident came not long before he was back in the pit lane, however, as he retired less than 10 laps into the 71-lap race.
McLaren’s Lando Norris won the race, starting from pole position and cruising to a 30s victory to take the lead in the drivers’ championship by one point from teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fifth.
