A 27-year-old man, thought to be English, has been arrested after clambering onto the track during the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday night.

The unidentified individual gained entry to the Marina Bay Street Circuit and prompted a second safety car period in the race.

Eventual race winner Sebastian Vettel exclaimed ‘there’s a man on the track!’, as he sped along Esplanade Drive in the city-state, by turn 13.

The FIA say they will request a full report from grand prix organisers about the incident.

The Singapore Grand Prix had already been a captivating race up until lap 37, but all attention on the drama was suddenly lost when a fan was spotted walking down the track towards the cars after turn 13. Seconds later the safety car was called out which brought down the speed of all the drivers on the circuit for safety reasons.

Previous incidents in the past involving track invasions have seen individuals keen to make a point via a protest, but astonishingly the man just took a stroll for a few yards down the straight near the side of the circuit in a fashion as casual as his dresswear of shirts and shorts.

 

Oblivious to his surroundings, it was thankful the man was walking on the opposite side of the racing line, limiting the danger to himself and the drivers who were astonished at the sight of him on the circuit.

After passing the intruder, race leader and eventual winner Sebastian Vettel immediately called into his Ferrari team, shouting in disbelief to his team that there was a man on the track.

The intruder then spotted an opening in the fence, and leapt over a railing near a track marshall's post before disappearing from view just as sharply as he had emerged.

Thankfully, no further drama emerged following the fan intervention but questions have now been asked over how he was allowed access to the track.

 

The fan had been allowed to walk unopposed on the track for 53 seconds and had sprinted in front of Vettel in between his calm entrance and exit.

Formula One team principles have meanwhile criticised the individual, who gained unauthorised entry to the circuit, with Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff even claiming he ‘must have had a couple of beers’.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner added: ‘It looked as though he had come straight out of a nightclub. It is not only dangerous for him but very much so for the drivers.’

Vettel led from start to finish at Marina Bay, and was joined on the podium by Daniel Ricciardo and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

He was the first to discover the man alongside the road, and said he couldn’t believe his eyes. He jokingly added: ‘I think I saw him taking a picture. I hope it was a good one at least!’

McLaren driver Jenson Button said the 27-year-old ‘must have been a nutcase’ but refused to blame organisers at the circuit.

‘Who walks onto a Formula One track?’, the Brit said. ‘You wouldn’t walk onto a motorway! You can’t control that.

 

‘You can make the barriers only a certain height but you’ve got to trust in the human race to be sensible.’

This is the second time this season someone has been arrested for wondering onto an F1 circuit this year. At the Chinese Grand Prix a man ran across the track during practice, even sprinting across the start-finish straight and then climbing the pit wall.

It was reported that the fan then walked into the Ferrari garage expressing his desire to race a grand prix car. 

 

Vettel was the first to discover the unidentified individual, who dawdled alongside Esplanade Drive, next to turn 13. His next move to run straight across the road was an insane act of stupidity; if he had done so just seconds later he may have been hit by the Ferrari driver.

The FIA say they have requested a full report of the incident from grand prix organisers, while Mercedes chief Toto Wolff even claimed the unidentified individual ‘must have had a couple of beers.’ Red Bull’s Christian Horner said he ‘looked like he had come straight out of a nightclub’.

His dawdling entrance onto the circuit gave Vettel the fright of his life and prompted the second safety car of the race. He stopped to take a photograph, then proceeded to jump back over the protective barriers by himself.

Lewis Hamilton’s demise through the heart of Singapore was almost as painful as the authorities were slow to remove the man from the track. Around the illuminated streets, supported by 65 miles of electric cables, the world champion lost power altogether.

 

This was his first retirement of the season, and only the third time the usually all-conquering Mercedes team has failed to claim victory in 2015.

(Daily Mail)