As the Formula One world mourns the loss of Jules Bianchi, important questions need to be asked around how such an accident could have taken place in an era where safety is paramount.
Two months after the accident in which Bianchi struck a crane recovering Adrian Sutil’s stricken Sauber at the wet Japanese Grand Prix, an investigation determined that the Frenchman “did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control”.
But as compatriot and multiple world champion Alain Prost states, “There was a small misjudgment that cost very dearly. There was an accident, pouring rain and appalling visibility. There should have been a safety car to slow the race down before the recovery truck went on track – that’s the misjudgment.”
Bianchi may not have slowed sufficiently under the yellow flags, though, as Prost says, why was there a recovery vehicle allowed to be on track with the race ongoing in such treacherous conditions?
Also, Bianchi’s accident occurred while running on intermediate tyres in what were very wet conditions. According to Sebastian Vettel, “Currently the extreme tyre has a very narrow window and the intermediate is quicker. As soon as you’ve got rid of most of the water, you try to put the intermediate on, taking a lot of risk into account, just because it’s the quicker tyre.”
Staging races in the twilight has already come under the spotlight, especially in regions where weather is typically a factor like in Japan. Limiting visibility for drivers in those conditions in the name of a more television-friendly timeslot should never have been allowed.
Moves have already been made to slow drivers when safety crews are attending a stationary car. The Virtual Safety Car system now in place imposes speed limits to drivers when track conditions are deemed unsafe.
There were 21 years between fatalities in Formula One and as the sport considers its future regulations, safety must remain at the core of the rulebook.
As Prost adds, “They have done a lot for safety. We had not had a fatal crash in Formula One for 21 years; it means that a lot of work was done.”
“But like everywhere, there’s always a little bit more to be done. The only thing that still was to be done for safety was about this recovery truck that goes on the circuit.”
GD66
Guest
There should certainly have been a safety car deployed before the mobile crane was permitted to enter the track. For some reason there was a crane operating trackside a few years back in the closing laps of the Canadian F1 GP, luckily no race cars were involved but there was an unfortunate marshal killed, who fell over when walking alongside the crane. I understand the enormous pressure to have races comply with the parameters of a tight tv schedule but competitor safety is paramount, and in recent times has been good. Bianchi's crash appeared to have been an aquaplane off the track at excessive speed for the local yellow flags, so strictly speaking was very likely his own miscalculation, however drivers deserve the right to make a misjudgement without paying the ultimate price. Again, like the Canadian situation, it is an error of judgement from race control that has permitted the mobile crane to operate trackside before a safety car has been deployed to control the field.
Naveen Razik
Roar Pro
Martin Brundle has always preached the danger of having a john deere on track. That was the biggest mistake arguably. I think we need to have floodlights on standby at twilight races to ensure that the light stays as the rain comes. In addition to that, we need a way to safely remove F1 cars in heavy conditions. I saw a concept recently featuring a movable frame that can be moved over the car
Trent Price
Roar Guru
Staging the race so late was regrettably outside the control of the governing body and left in the hands of the promoters. There were intense discussions Saturday night in an effort to bring the race forward that fell of deaf ears. Ironically, now that a change has been made, its the promoters taking the high ground about safety.