Marshal dies at Canadian Grand Prix MyZA

Accident: a track marshal was confirmed dead at the Canadian Grand Prix Photo: AFP

The Canadian Grand Prix track marshal who fell under a mobile crane after helping to remove Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber in the closing stages of the race has died from his injuries.

The marshal, who could not be seen by the driver of the crane, tripped after trying to retrieve his dropped radio. After being taken to the circuit’s medical centre, the unidentified man was flown by helicopter to the Sacre-Coeur hospital in Montreal for treatment in its traumatology department.

He is the third marshal to have died since 2000 after fatal accidents at the Italian Grand Prix in 2000 and the Australian Grand Prix in 2001, although both of those incidents involved wheels which had come loose.

Among those to pay tribute to the marshal last night was Ferrari’s double world champion Fernando Alonso who had just finished the race in second place. “Today there is nothing to celebrate,” tweeted the Spaniard. “Terrible news arrive with the death of a marshal this race. Very sad. RIP.”

A statement released by the FIA read: “The FIA is sad to announce the death of a Formula One Grand Prix du Canada worker at 6.02pm (local time).

“The worker, a member of the Automobile Club de l’Ile Notre Dame, was the victim of an unfortunate accident that occurred at the end of this afternoon’s race. – The Telegraph