Will Sweet was hit by flying car debris at the grand prix.
“When I picked up the piece of wheel,someone else managed to let me get it,I realised 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 said.
Nogrand prix officials came to assist Sweet,who said the area was packed,with young children around.
“No one even came and looked,” he said. “My fiancee was pretty spooked by it and borderline shell-shocked,” he said.
After the race,medics treated Sweet for the cut on his right forearm.
“Because it was a really dramatic finish,we sort of stood and watched the end of the race ... we eventually went to the St John’s ambulance and they patched me up there.”
Sweet said he and his partner watched the replay of Sunday’s incident several times at home.
“Somehow it’s gone up and over[the fence] and it came from quite a height as well,so it went straight up,way over the fence,and managed to land in the crowd,and we were in a really packed hill on the side of corner two,” he said.
In 2001,an Australian track marshall was struck and killed by a flying wheel from a collision at Albert Park,prompting a change to the safety measures.
Sweet said officials did not come to see what happened.
Speaking of Sweet being hit by debris on Sunday,Westacott said:“It looks as though it was a freak one-off because you can’t necessarily have the safety and degree fences going 20 meters in the air.
“The debris fences are consistent around the world. We’re compliant with our FIA regulations,but like everything in motorsport,and like everything in major events,you do debriefs at the end of the event,and we’ll investigate and see what we can do to improve.”
Westacott said the organisation would contact Sweet and try to organise a meeting with Magnussen.