Protesters storming the track threaten safety at the weekend’s F1 events at Silverstone.
Last year, activists made it all the way to the track at Silverstone. PDO
The organizers of this weekend’s Great Britain GP have prepared for large-scale demonstrations by climate activists.
Recently, several sporting events have been interrupted due to protests by climate activists. This happened, for example, on Wednesday at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
– It’s a ridiculously shameless thing to risk your own life. The safety of the drivers, spectators and marshals are also put at risk, says the managing director of the Silverstone circuit Stuart Pringle said for the BBC.
Pringle is confident that the fences around the Silverstone circuit will keep activists away.
– Unlike in tennis and cricket, we have fences designed to prevent flying parts from cars hitting the crowd.
– However, their purpose is not to prevent a person who wants to risk his life, Pringle said.
Especially in sports events, disturbances have been caused by the climate activist group Just Stop Oil, which has demanded a quick divestment from fossil fuels.
Motorsport competitions have been the subject of fierce criticism from climate activists in recent years.
Members of the Just Stop Oil group staged a protest at Silverstone last year. The protesters in question were imprisoned.
– If you run onto the track this weekend at Silverstone, it’s a heinous crime, Pringle thundered.
The race weekend in Great Britain starts on Friday with free practice.