MONTREAL: Red Bull’s triple world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday but his victory was overshadowed by the death of a marshal, the first fatality in Formula One in over a decade.
The worker was killed after being run over by a mobile crane that was removing the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez from the side of the track after he crashed in the closing stages.
Vettel, oblivious to the unfolding tragedy, captured his first F1 victory on North American soil and extended his overall lead in the championship to 36 points over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who finished second.
Hours after Vettel’s win, the sport’s governing body (FIA) announced the death of the marshal, which overshadowed a relatively incident-free race.
“The recovery vehicle had lifted the car to return it to the pits and while doing this the worker dropped his radio and attempted to pick it up,” said the FIA statement. “As he did this, he stumbled and was hit and run over by the recovery vehicle.”
The worker was transferred a hospital in Montreal for treatment but his injuries were too severe and he died.
He was the first marshal to die at a race since the 2001 Australian Grand Prix when Graham Beveridge was struck by a tyre that flew through a gap in safety fencing after Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher collided. (Reuters)
