Red Bull mechanic drops shocking news of Williams boys facing an “attempted gunpoint robbery” in Brazil

Red Bull Senior Power Unit Assembly Technician, Calum Nicholas revealed that Williams F1 team members were held at gunpoint in an "attempted robbery" while leaving the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Thursday. The sport is visiting the Interlagos track to host the annual Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.

The Interlagos is a fan favorite with supporters from all across the globe turning up at the race to cheer on their favorite teams and drivers. The passionate and fanfare atmosphere provides an added layer of excitement to the exhilarating on-track action.

However, Sao Paulo wasn't averse to garnering negative headlines as well, evidenced by the Red Bull team mechanic sharing the shock news. On X, Nicholas informed his fans about the hectic nature of the track and his struggles with traffic while en route to his hotel, saying:

"So it’s taken a grand total of 1hr 15mins to get out of the circuit. Just the 5 miles back to the hotel now…ETA 3-5 business days."

When someone suggested that he cycled back to his hotel, the Red Bull man reported:

"I could, but as some of the Williams boys had an attempted gunpoint robbery yesterday as they pulled up to the hotel, it’s probably not the best idea."

The reports of F1 personnel having security troubles in Brazil weren't something new as former world champion Jenson Button had faced attempted robbery in 2010.

A couple of years ago, some members of the Mercedes F1 team were held at gunpoint by nefarious people. Lewis Hamilton urged the F1 and said, via DailySabah:

"Some of my team were held up at gunpoint last night leaving the circuit here in Brazil. Gun shots fired, gun held at one's head. This is so upsetting to hear. Please say a prayer for my guys who are here as professionals today even if shaken. This happens every single year here. F1 and the teams need to do more, there's no excuse."

However, there has been no official confirmation from the Williams F1 and the sport regarding the safety concerns faced by the members of the Grove-based outfit.

Max Verstappen previews the Brazilian GP for Red Bull this weekend

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that he was looking forward to racing at a "cool track" like Interlagos after his struggles in Mexico. As per PitPass, the Dutch driver said:

"Brazil is the final race for us of a long triple header and obviously another Sprint weekend so will be very busy, but an opportunity to score points. Interlagos is a cool track to drive with a lot of history and is also quite technical, with all the elevation changes. I am looking forward to going back to Brazil and racing in front of the passionate fans."

The Red Bull driver has previously won the race at Interlagos in 2019 and 2023 while having one of his best performances in F1 in 2016.