Climate change protesters have again taken to the track to protest, this time at the start of a Formula E race.
It’s happened again.
Sunday in Berlin climate protesters delayed the start of the second Formula E race of the weekend. Just as the field waited for lights out for the start, at least two people could be seen climbing over the fence along the start finish area and sitting down on the track. They were quickly removed from the track by marshals and the race was able to continue with Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy eventually taking the win.
German group Letzte Generation (Last Generation), which has been holding protests all around Berlin this weekend, claimed responsibility for the protest posting a video on social media that read in German: “We are at the @eFORMELde racetrack to sound the alarm. It’s time to slow down. Because we’re on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
Formula E released a statement not long after the incident: “The race was temporarily delayed while local authorities responded to a protest action unrelated to the event. Security services quickly and safely contained the disruption. The event was able to proceed as planned.”
The latest incident marks the second time in the last year climate protestors taking to a racetrack. Last year at the F1 Silverstone Grand Prix, Just Stop Oil members ran onto the track during the opening lap. Fortunately, the field was stopped the race was red-flagged following Zhou Guanyu’s first-corner accident which sent his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car over the barrier. The red flag stoppage allowed officials to remove those protesters without further incident.
Sunday, drivers were well aware of what had happened.
Second place finisher Jake Dennis told The Race that he “didn’t really know what their goal was” and “what they were trying to achieve but it looks like they were trying to sit down and cause some sort of riot.
“I was pretty impressed by how quickly we removed that situation and continued with the race.
“Thankfully they did it before the lights came on so it allowed us to sit and wait and I think all the drivers did a good job to stay calm because that can cause a build-up of tension but in Turn 1 it was all pretty clean.
“I think we did a good job to rectify that issue as quickly as we possibly could.”
Keyword: Video: Protesters Delay Start of Formula E Race in Berlin