Unfortunately this is a classic example of how security incidents can happen anywhere at anytime, even in seemingly secure environments. This case study focusses on British Formula 1 driver Lando Norris, who has been the target of two separate incidents in the past two years.
The first occurred in July 2021, where Norris had attended the Euros final at Wembley Stadium. Upon returning to his car, a £165,000 McLaren GT parked in a VIP car park the stadium, he was ambushed by two men. One of them put Norris in a headlock whilst the other ripped his limited edition Richard Mille watch from his wrist, before they both ran off. Norris was largely uninjured from the ordeal but was heavily affected by the incident for a number of months afterwards, and was also aware that it could have been a lot worse.
An interesting point from a professional security perspective, is that when F1 drivers are in and around circuits during a race weekend they are often accompanied by some form of security detail, whether this is procured by the teams themselves or by the circuits (usually a combination of both). However when not on official race duty, it is not uncommon to see the drivers out on their own hometowns of Monaco, London, Los Angeles etc, seemingly without any security. This also happened to be the case with Norris on this occasion, who was apparently on his own when the attack occurred; and the idea that he would have even been subjected to the chance of an attack, particularly during a highly-controlled public event in a VIP car park, was probably seen to be an unlikely possibility.
The second incident happened just days ago, whilst Norris was on holiday in Marbella with a group of friends. Whilst they were out for dinner, a group of thieves broke into their residence and made off with thousands of pounds worth of clothes, jewellery, shoes and bags.
It is hard to look at an unfortunate incidents such as these and believe that the outcome would have not been different had Norris had some form of Close Protection with him at Wembley or out in Marbella. Even the presence of one operative could have either provided a deterrent against potential attackers, or been able to prevent any form of ambush, and that a Residential Security based at his villa on holiday would no doubt provided a critical defence against any would-be thieves. It also goes to show that even when individuals are out with friends or acquaintances, having even one operative present whose sole objective is to provide situational awareness, dynamic risk assessments and ultimately, personal protection is often an invaluable asset.