Fan who threw flare onto track was removed from Dutch Grand Prix

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — A fan who threw a flare onto the track during qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort was removed from the event by security after the incident.

The second session of qualifying had to be suspended after an orange smoke flare was thrown onto the circuit on the straight between Turns 12 and 13. A second flare was thrown onto the track during the final session of qualifying at Turn 1, but did not result in a disruption as it rolled away under a barrier.

After the first incident, the FIA confirmed the spectator who was responsible for the red flag had been identified by security and removed from the circuit.

Max Verstappen, who went on to take pole position at the race, encouraged fans not to throw flares from the grandstands.

“It’s very silly to do,” he said, “To hold flares, it’s nice, but already there is a limit to how much, but to throw it on the track is just stupid.

“I think also the person that did that got removed. So just don’t do that, it’s not good for anyone, you get thrown out so you can’t see the race and for us the session gets stopped because it’s dangerous, so you just shouldn’t do it.”

Second-place Charles Leclerc added: “It’s dangerous, so don’t do these type of things. It’s good there was a reaction by the security guys and this shouldn’t happen.

“I don’t know if in the future we can do anything to avoid that. I don’t know exactly when it was thrown, but if a car is passing at that time it can create unnecessary risk, so hopefully it won’t happen again.”