Grand Prix held up by protestor

Today’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone was disrupted by a protester who forced his way on to the track and walked into the path of the high-speed Formula One cars.

The man appeared wearing a kilt and a tam o’shanter and found his way on to the fastest part of the Northamptonshire track, the flat-out Hangar Straight.

He paraded in the middle of the track, with unidentifiable banners pinned to his clothing and forced several cars to take avoiding action.

Race officials scrambled to safety car to reduce speed and prevent overtaking while a steward finally ended the protest, rugby-tackling the man to the ground. He was led away by police and the race resumed.

His actions came at a bad time for Silverstone, with the British Grand Prix already the subject of stinging criticism from Formula One ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Max Mosley.

Martin Brundle, chairman of the British Racing Drivers’ Club which owns the track, admitted during his commentary for ITV that the incident was “the last thing this event needed”.

After 20 laps, and a third of the race distance, da Matta was managing to hold a very slender 0.6-second advantage over Raikkonen, who had been able to pass team-mate Coulthard and then Panis who were holding fourth and third respectively.

Ralf Schumacher had pitted again at the end of lap 19 to relegate the German towards the back of the pack, allowing Trulli and Barrichello to move up to fifth and sixth.

Firman had dropped down one place to ninth, with Michael Schumacher up one to 13th, with Button 15th and Wilson 18th.