The presence of a breakdown vehicle on the track of the Japanese Grand Prix, won on Sunday in the rain by Max Verstappen who officially retained his title of world champion, brought back the memory of the accident which had caused the death Frenchman Jules Bianchi on the same Suzuka circuit in 2014.
The incident, described as “worse than unacceptable” by Alfa Romeo team principal Frédéric Vasseur, happened on the second lap under a red flag when the drivers were driving back to the pits in pouring rain and with very poor visibility.
The presence of the machine angered many pilots including Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), who passed close to the recovery machine. ” This is unacceptable ! How it is possible ? I can’t believe it, ”said the Frenchman in an onboard camera sequence from F1TV. “I could have killed myself! “, he added a little later, once back in his stand.
“It’s disrespectful to Jules, to his whole family, testified after the race Gasly, very moved, with Canal +. I’m just happy to be alive. The French driver received a 20-second penalty for driving too fast under a red flag, even though the International Automobile Federation (FIA) has recognized that the presence of a breakdown vehicle was a circumstance mitigating.
“No respect for the life of the pilots, no respect for the memory of Jules, incredible”, wrote on Instagram his father Philippe Bianchi, screenshot of the incident in support.
“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 +.
“How could this 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).
“We lost Jules because of this mistake”
“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).
It was in close circumstances that Bianchi, a young hope of French F1, had an accident which was fatal to him, 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. The French pilot died after several months in a coma in Nice, his hometown, in July 2015.
“Totally unacceptable, estimated with 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. »
