F1 is taking precautions to make sure the vandalism doesn’t happen at the French Grand Prix after some people stole signage and other circuit property from the Red Bull Ring over the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
Following this weekend’s French Grand Prix, Formula 1 intends to take harsh action against spectators who remove any circuit signage or hoardings.
After the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks ago, fans scaled fences to access the track, and some of them took souvenirs of billboards and other circuit property.
Fans are typically given access to certain areas of the track so they may go close to the podium and take part in the festivities after the race.
Videos of spectators removing and bringing home trackside advertising, including billboards, DRS signs, and even fan territory marketing flags, have appeared at a number of recent races.
The practice has become increasingly popular on social media, where there are numerous videos showing spectators removing the signage as a memento following a race.
However, it has been revealed that F1 will take a harsher approach against fans removing signage from the tracks ahead of this weekend’s French Grand Prix.
According to reports, the post-race intrusions were caught on CCTV, and are currently being examined after the event to identify any offenders. Anyone seen stealing signage will be reported to the police and prosecuted.
Following several allegations of sexual harassment and abuse, particularly of female spectators, during the Austrian Grand Prix, the behaviour of supporters has been under scrutiny recently.
Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion, called for a lifelong ban on the offenders while F1 issued a statement following the race in Austria indicating it would speak with the promoter and put an end to the “unacceptable” behaviour.
Cameras could be watching the spectators, an F1 official stated, and anyone caught stealing items from the circuit would be dealt with by the law and prosecuted.
