SUZUKA, Japan – The presence of a tow truck on the Japanese Grand Prix track, won on Sunday in the rain by Max Verstappenbrought back memories of the accident that caused the death of Frenchman Jules Bianchi on the same Suzuka circuit in 2014.
It was the controversy of the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix that angered the paddock unanimously: on the second lap of the race, Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) was surprised to see a recovery truck on the track indicated by its flashing light while the rainy conditions were particularly difficult for the pilots.
The incident happened under a red flag when the drivers were driving back to the pits, in pouring rain and with very poor visibility.
For the drivers, Gasly in the lead, the presence of this truck reminded them of the tragic circumstances which had led to the death of Jules Bianchi, young hope of French F1 on the 42nd lap of the Japanese GP, on October 5, 2014.
In the rain, Bianchi lost control of his Marussia in turn 7 and his single-seater got stuck under a lifting device which ended up evacuating the Sauber of the German Adrian Sutil, which left the track in the previous lap.
“I could have killed myself”
The French pilot died after several months in a coma in Nice, his hometown, in July 2015.
“No respect for the lives of the pilots, no respect for the memory of Jules, incredible”, immediately reacted on Instagram his father Philippe Bianchi, screenshot of the incident in support.
” This is unacceptable! How it is possible? I can’t believe it, ”gasly got angry, still at the wheel of his single-seater in an on-board camera sequence from F1TV. “I could have killed myself! “, he added a little later, once back in his garage.
We understand better the nervousness of @PierreGASLY on the radio and out of his car… It’s a shame.#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/phkn86XtrP
— Off Track (@OffTrack_FR) October 9, 2022
“It’s disrespectful to Jules, to his whole family, he testified after the race, very moved, to Canal+. I’m just happy to be alive. »
At the end of the race, the Frenchman, who will join the Alpine team next season, received a twenty-second penalty which caused him to drop to 18th place “for having continued to drive more than 200 km /h repeatedly under the red flag regime,” the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement.
The FIA also announced that it had launched, “as is the case in these circumstances”, an in-depth investigation into the deployment of the recovery vehicles, “following the testimonies of a certain number of pilots”.
“Worse than unacceptable”
It is an understatement to say that the incident stirred up the paddock.
“It’s worse than unacceptable,” said Alfa Romeo team manager Frédéric Vasseur.
“Totally unacceptable”, added to Autosport magazine Christian Horner, the boss of the Red Bull team. “We lost Jules Bianchi here and that should never happen again. There must be a thorough investigation into the reason for the presence of a recovery vehicle on the track. »
“The visibility was zero, we know what happened in 2014”, commented Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), of which Bianchi was the sports sponsor, also at the microphone of Canal+.
“WTF”. How could it happen? We lost a life in this situation a few years ago. We are risking our lives, especially in these conditions. We want to run. But that … unacceptable, ”tweeted Briton Lando Norris (McLaren).
Wtf. How’s this happened!? We lost a life in this situation years ago. We risk our lives, especially in conditions like this. We wanna race. But this… Unacceptable.
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) October 9, 2022
“How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on the track? We lost Jules because of this mistake. What happened today is totally unacceptable!!!!! Hope this is the last time I see a crane on the trail! “Added a tweet Sergio Pérez (Red Bull).
How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on track?
We lost Jules because of that mistake.
What happened today is totally unacceptable!!!!!
I hope this is the last time ever I see a crane on track!
– Sergio Pérez (@SCHecoPerez) October 9, 2022