F1 News: Lando Norris Warns Just Stop Oil Protestors Of British GP Repeat Offence

Lando Norris hits out at "stupid and selfish" Just Stop Oil campaigners who protested on the race track

McLaren Racer Lando Norris has hit out at 'Just Stop Oil' protestors known to disrupt sporting events like the World Snooker Championship and Lord’s Ashes Test- the Premiership rugby final.

His warning seems legitimate considering what happened last year during the British Grand Prix. Five protestors somehow made their way onto the track and sat down on the fastest bit- the Wellington Straight during the opening lap. 

Though the race was suspended as a result of Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, many cars still zoomed past them, making the situation very tricky to handle. Luckily before an incident occurred, the Marshals dragged the protestors away from the track. 

Hitting out rather strongly, Norris said: 

“Of course, it is a concern because is a stupid thing to do to put your life in danger with cars driving around.

"It is also a very selfish thing to do because of the consequences it could have on the person that drives the car.

"Everyone has a right to protest and I guess there are good ways of doing it and worse ways.

"I just hope people are smart enough not to do it. There are much safer ways to get just as much attention.”

A record 4,80,000 people are expected to attend the race at Silverstone this weekend. Track authorities are working with the Northamptonshire Police to increase security cover during the event. 

Stuart Pringle- Silverstone's managing director has a message for the protestors who disturbed other sporting events this year. He said:

“The fundamental difference here is that you are not putting your life in danger when you run on the pitch at Lord’s.

"You are not putting your life in danger when you sit on a snooker table or protest at a flower show.

"A motor racing track is not the place to go. It is extraordinarily dangerous and people will be putting lives at risk if they go there, and any sensible, right-thinking person can extrapolate what the ultimate risk here is.

"My strong, strong message is: ‘Do not put your life in danger. This is not the place to go and sit on a floor’. It is absolute madness if someone climbs on to a live racing track.

"We have no specific intelligence, but we will plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

From Pringle's message, it is clear that there are no intelligence inputs yet of something stupid happening on the track. But, considering past records, you can't say until the race is concluded safely.