Melbourne ¨C A spectator at the Formula One Australian Grand Prix suffered a cut to his arm when struck by a piece of debris from Kevin Magnussen¡¯s car, putting the spotlight on organizers¡¯ safety protocols.
Will Sweet told Australian radio station 3AW he was standing with his fiancee on a packed hill just off Turn 2 at Albert Park during Sunday¡¯s race when the Haas driver¡¯s car hit the track-side barrier sending his tire and debris flying into the air.
¡°It slapped me in the arm and I was just standing there bleeding,¡± he said.
¡°My arm was covering where my neck would¡¯ve been, but if that had hit my fiancee, it would¡¯ve got her right in the head.
¡°I realized how big it was and how heavy it was. Part of it was shredded and really sharp, if it hit me in a different angle, it could¡¯ve been horrendous,¡± he added.
Australian media published a picture of Sweet holding a large piece of debris with blood trickling down his forearm and another showing him having treatment from a medical official at the track.
Sweet said the area were he was standing was packed, with young children around, and that no race officials came to assist him.
¡°No one even came and looked,¡± he said.
¡°My fiancee was pretty spooked by it and borderline shell-shocked.¡±
The race¡¯s organizers are already under scrutiny after a large number of fans invaded the track near the end of the race.
Late on Sunday, Formula One stewards ordered the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) to urgently produce a ¡°remediation plan¡± in response to security and safety failures that allowed fans to access the track.
Sweet said debris from Magnussen¡¯s car flew ¡°straight up, way over the fence¡± and into the crowd.
The AGPC did not provide immediate comment.
At the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, a track marshal was killed when hit by the wheel of Jacques Villeneuve¡¯s car following a crash with Williams¡¯ Ralf Schumacher.
Organizers said a crowd of 131,124 attended Albert Park on Sunday and a record total of 444,631 spectators across the race week.

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