F1 officials BLAME Kiwi driver Liam Lawson after marshals ran onto the track in front of him at Mexico GP

Mexican F1 officials have made a stunning decision after reviewing a near-miss incident at the Mexico GP involving New Zealand driver Liam Lawson and marshals scurrying to get off the track.

Lawson, who was ditched by Red Bull after just two races of the current Championship season, had a tough race in North America, retiring late on after a clash on the first corner.

The New Zealander broke his front wing in the incident with Alex Albon, and moved to the back of the field after he was forced to pit. 

And because he was so far behind, he came across two marshals - who had been on the track to clear up debris amid the yellow flag - running across the track on the first corner.

Lawson ended up sending an X-rated message on his radio, saying: 'Wait, the f***? Oh my God, are you kidding me? Did you just see that?

He added: 'I could've f***ing killed him mate.'

However The FIA's Mexican body has blamed Liam Lawson for the near-miss with marshals on his alleged failure to properly slow down under a double yellow flag.

'When analysing the sequence from the camera onboard the car, it can be seen that driver Liam Lawson, as he approaches Turn 1, begins to turn to take the racing line, at which point the presence of the track marshals is clearly visible as they carry out their intervention procedures to collect the pieces that had been left behind as a result of the previous contact,' the statement reads.

'The proximity of the car to the work area shows that the track marshals were still active within the risky area, performing cleaning and safety tasks on the circuit.

'The images clearly show that driver Liam Lawson maintains the steering wheel angle of his car when taking Turn 1, without changing his trajectory, even though the track marshals were crossing the track to return to their post.

'This action occurs while personnel were still working in the area, which shows that the driver did not Interrupt his line despite the obvious presence of marshals on the track.' 

Lawson said the incident had given him 'quite a fright' in the aftermath of his early exit from the Mexico GP.

'I honestly couldn't believe what I was seeing,' the New Zealander said. 'I got to Turn 1 and there were two dudes just running across the track. And I nearly hit one of them. Honestly, it was so dangerous,' he said.

'Obviously, there's been a miscommunication somewhere, but I've never experienced that before, I've only seen that in the past. It's pretty unacceptable.

'We obviously can't understand how, on a live track, marshals can be allowed to just run across the track like that. I mean, I have no idea why, but I'm sure we'll get some explanation.'

Despite Lawson finding himself back in the pits before the end of the race, Lando Norris found himself at the top of the drivers' world championship standings after taking victory in Mexico. 

The Brit is now just one point ahead of team-mate and rival Oscar Piastri, who finished fifth. Max Verstappen is a further 35 points back.

Norris, who was booed by large sections of the crowd, said after the race: 'It's one weekend at a time. So, you know, I'm happy. I'm focused on myself. I keep my head down, I ignore all of this, and, yeah, I keep to myself, and it's working at the minute. So I'm happy.'

'I love it, thank you guys. What a race, I could just keep my eyes forward and focus on what I was doing.

'A pretty straightforward race for me which is just what I was after. A good start, a good launch and a good first lap, and I could go from there.'