Being a Formula 1 marshal is normally a pretty good gig.
You get one of the best seats in the house to watch the 200mph monsters roar past as the gladiatorial drivers do battle on the track.
But you also have to be on your toes – the marshals’ first priority is safety so they are usually first on the scene after a crash to check on the driver and help in any way they can.
They also have to leap into action if there is debris on the track – usually the race director Charlie Whiting will throw a yellow flag which forces the drivers to slow right down.
When the cars are on another part of the track the marshals can run on, remove any dangerous debris, and be back behind the catch fencing before the cars come back around.
But today at the Singapore Grand Prix one marshal had a terrifying moment that he won’t forget in a hurry.
Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg was caught up in a first lap crash that saw hundreds of shards of carbon fibre fly all over the circuit.
The yellow flags were shown and the marshals came on to clear up.
But one was still on track when he turned around to see the snake of F1 cars – led by Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg – thundering towards him at full speed, the green flags having been shown to indicate racing was back on.
He legged it off to the side of the track while one of his colleagues frantically waved his yellow flags to try to get the drivers to slow down.
Marshall runs as race restarts. #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/hV2krmwHgo
— McLaren Team (@McLarenTeamFan) September 18, 2016
This reader summed it up better than we could:
https://twitter.com/CianFA14/status/777480279745236996
Well, indeed.
It isn’t the first time this weekend an F1 driver has seen something unusual on track. During practice on Saturday Red Bull’s Max Verstappen narrowly missed a giant lizard scampering across the circuit:
Things you don't expect to hear in #FP3… 📻
Verstappen: "There's a giant lizard on the track!" 😂🐊#SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/oxJ9csxPEs
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2016
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