The F1 Japanese Grand Prix, in which Max Verstappen has been proclaimed two-time world champion, has been marred by the serious track incident that could have cost a tragedy repeating the fatal episode of Jules Bianchi from 2014. A crane entered the track to remove Carlos Sainz's Ferrari while Frenchman Pierre Gasly was going through that curve at 250 km/h.
"We lost Jules eight years ago in similar conditions, with a crane on the gravel. I don't understand how eight years later, in similar conditions, the tractor is not only not on the gravel but on the track itself. It is not respectful towards Jules, his family, his loved ones. All of us", said Gasly himself after the race, who was also sanctioned with 20 seconds by the FIA for
"After passing through the scene of the incident, car 10 (Gasly) continued in a red flag situation, at speeds that exceeded 200 km / h on multiple occasions, and at one point reached 251 km / h," justified the statement. FIA sanction, although taking into account "the scare that the driver experienced when seeing a crane".
"When I see that I am going at 250 kilometers per hour I try to slow down without making mistakes, if I hit the brake I lose the car. I was two meters from dying today and that is not acceptable," Gasly lamented about the FIA's resolution and a incident, in the early stages of the race, which could have ended in tragedy.
The Suzuka race started under persistent rain, but was interrupted 5 minutes after the start, on lap 2, due to the accident suffered by Carlos Sainz on the first lap. His Ferrari suffered a spin due to aquaplaning and crashed into the fences of turn 12. The Ferrari was destroyed, stopped in the middle of the track, with poor visibility, the driver from Madrid running a serious risk of being hit. The stewards declared a red flag and the race was stopped.
But surprisingly, on that lap in which the cars were being collected towards the pits, a crane entered the track to remove the Ferrari. Some cars slowly passed by the work vehicle, with the yellow flags signaling the incident.
But Pierre Gasly, who had left the pit-lane and was later than the rest, did not notice due to poor visibility until the crane was on top of him. The Frenchman was scared to death by passing by the crane without being noticed or marked, as can be seen in the video images. “I can't believe it, what is that tractor doing on the track? It is unacceptable!” the Alpha Tauri yelled over the radio with fear in his body.
The episode, very serious due to the risk to the safety of the drivers, recalled the fatal accident of Jules Bianchi in Suzuka in 2014. The French Marussia driver fatally crashed into a crane that had entered a lap earlier to remove the damaged car from Subtle.
Jules Bianchi's father, Phillippe, reacted on social networks upon seeing the incident: "This is not respecting the life of a pilot, it is a lack of respect for the memory of Jules," said the father of the late French pilot.
Some drivers also reacted to this dangerous episode while the race was stopped. Thus, Lando Norris pointed out on his Twitter account: "Wtf. How did this happen? We lost a life in this situation years ago. We risk our lives, especially in situations like this. We want to run, but this is unacceptable," wrote the McLaren English.
Checo Pérez also expressed indignation: "How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on the track? We lost Jules because of that mistake. What happened today is totally unacceptable! I hope this is the last time I see one crane on the track!", wrote the Mexican.
The race, stopped with a red flag from 7:05 am (2:05 pm in Japan), was going to be resumed at 9:15 am (4:15 pm Japanese time) without the possibility of completing the 53 laps or 2 hours of racing.
