Formula 1 owners Liberty Media have called for action to address security concerns raised after a number of teams were involved in armed robberies outside the Interlagos circuit during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.
On Friday evening, Mercedes personnel were held at gunpoint outside the Sao Paulo track and their valuables were taken, though additional measures were put in place, further reported violent incidents on Williams and Pirelli took place over the last two days.
As a result, the Italian tyre supplier cancelled a planned test in with McLaren this week citing an “unnecessary risk” and, though security has often been a problem over the years with team items stolen and Jenson Button a victim of an attempted attack several years, the scale of the situation this year has raised questions over the safety of the race.
“We will once more press on the promoter this [security] is a higher priority,” a spokesman for Liberty told the UK’s Standard Sport.
“The promoter is essentially in charge of the circuit and the local authorities where we race are in charge of the area outside the circuit but that’s not saying that we’re doing away with any responsibility.
“We can’t, say, affect police rotas. Whether we should have races in cities with difficulties like that is something that is a broader question. We are extremely concerned and are evaluating through the security company we work. We will report back to promoters — we’re not standing idle.
“We have our own security team that travels with us and we are actively involved, but we cannot be experts in every city we go to. We have a year between now and the next race to get it sorted, and we would be extremely disappointed if things have not been looked at,” the spokesperson added.
Commenting on what occurred, Sao Paulo Mayor Joao Doria was disappointed but insisted the Brazilian city isn’t the only place such incidents occur.
“What has happened cannot be justified but I’ve seen worse cases at other race tracks,” he told the DPA news agency. “It was the first time we had a case of such seriousness.
“These are regrettable circumstances, but they can occur in any country,” he added to Brazil’s Globo.
Despite reported interest in neighbouring Argentina to return to F1, uncertainty surrounding Interlagos, which is set to be sold in the coming months, and the prospect of no Brazilian drivers on the grid in 2018, Mayor Doria insisted the future of the race is secure.
“We have a contract until 2020 and whoever purchases the circuit must respect it. After that, we hope we can renew for another 10 years,” he said.
On whether the incidents would impact negotiations, he replied: “No, because while bad things happening is unfortunate, it also means you make things better in the future.”
