Gasly calls out intrusive fans in Mexican GP paddock
Pierre Gasly says F1 fans visiting the paddock need to be less intrusive and more respectful and give drivers more space.
Last week's race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin saw the F1 paddock - a normally restricted area - heavily populated with fans, and the same situation has played out this weekend at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez where a considerable number of passes were handed out to outsiders.
"I think letting people in is fine, but it’s true that I feel like some guests sometimes are not really respecting the space that we need," Gasly explained, quoted by RaceFans.
"People coming in garages before qualifying and asking for pictures when they are not even from our team.
"We are working here and obviously we give time for the fans when we can.
"[But] this weekend I didn’t dare come out of the hospitality because otherwise you just know that you get mobbed and sometimes it gets quite hectic."
Beyond drivers been swarmed with fans as they pass through the paddock's gates or move from their team's hospitality units to their garage, Gasly also noted that his personal bag was opened without him noticing it, both this weekend and in Austin.
The future Alpine charger was obviously upset with those overstepping the boundaries.
"I had my bag – which I arrived at the hospitality yesterday morning with, it had my passport – opened and I didn’t even feel it," he recounted.
"Clearly it wasn’t me and it wasn’t my manager. When he saw that, he closed it straight away. But the same thing happened in Austin when I came out of the paddock."
Gasly said the topic and perhaps a need to introduce security measures in the paddock was raised in Friday's drivers' briefing
"I just feel like at the moment we never had any security in F1 and maybe there is something we can do," he said.
"But as I say, I’m always giving the maximum time to the fans, it’s not that we don’t want anyone, but just to find ways to make everybody happy.
"We talked about it in the drivers’ briefing. I think it’s great also to see kids and people really enjoying it, but just maybe finding a way where they can understand where to reach us and when to give us a bit more space."
Local hero Sergio Perez played down the issue, insisting it's simply a reflection of his countrymen's devoted passion for F1.
"Obviously the Mexicans are really intense, of course, but they’re great people," he said. "They will never hurt anyone.
"It’s great to see this, we don’t get to see this in many other countries. So it’s nice for Formula 1 to enjoy a bit."
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