Africa-Press – South-Africa. Formula 1 does not seem to learn as we almost saw a repeat of what happened at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix in 2022 – in similar conditions. Only this time around, the driver was lucky to have escaped with his life.
During today’s (9 October) race, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly began his charge up the grid from the pitlane. When the race got underway, he waited at the pit exit to join the train of cars as they snaked around the Suzuka circuit.
But opening-lap incidents involving Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Alex Albon (Williams) brought out the safety car and, ultimately, the red flag. However, Gasly was a man on the charge, and he gave it full beans. When Sainz lost control of his car and spun into the barricades, the recovery tractor was out on track almost immediately.
Not only was this dangerous, but it entered an active racetrack! Gasly narrowly avoided it, sending him into a fit of rage over the team radio. And when the race was red-flagged and drivers returned to their pit boxes, he was seen vehemently addressing his team.
Pierre Gasly isn’t angry because of the crash or the advertising board. He’s angry because he could’ve SERIOUSLY INJURED HIMSELF. Why aren’t commentators talking about this foolishness from race control??? pic.twitter.com/gjY5swvSSg
— deni (@fiagirly) October 9, 2022Remember Jules and the others
At the 2014 Japanese GP, Jules Bianchi crashed his Marusia into the back of a recovery tractor. It was the first time since the 2009 Hungarian GP that a driver sustained such a severe injury in a race. In the ’09 event, a 1kg spring bounced off Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, hitting Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on the helmet.
The impact knocked Massa unconscious, sending him into the barricades. Massa would only return to racing in 2010. Before that, the last major incident was Ayrton Senna, who passed away at the San Marino GP in 1994. Senna was the last driver to have passed away from race-related injuries as F1 then ramped up its safety.
In 2018, Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert, a very close friend of Gasly’s, passed away at the Belgian GP. He was the first – and last – driver since Senna to have died during an active race. But Bianchi was still alive when he left the track. Unconscious, but alive. He was declared brain-dead in 2015.
Bianchi’s incident highlighted the usage and implementation of recovery vehicles. It set the stage for how these vehicles would be used in future F1 races; not just in Japan but globally. It is so disheartening and disappointing to see just how close Gasly came to making contact with the tractor. The FIA and Race Control should have remembered Japan 2014 and should have made a safer call given the treacherous conditions.
A recovery vehicle does not belong on an active racetrack, and F1 and the FIA seem to have forgotten just how dire such a situation can be.
Pierre Gasly, couldn’t agree more. pic.twitter.com/oz6pJtJYbC
— F1 Reaction Pictures (@FormulaReaction) October 9, 2022To get The Undercut delivered to your inbox, you must be logged in to your free News24 profile.
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