The crash that left French F1 driver Jules Bianchi in a critical condition with traumatic brain injuries was down to bad luck rather than poor judgement by Japan GP race officials, a track spokes-man said yesterday.
The 25-year-old Marussia driver suffered the life-threatening injury on Sunday when he aquaplaned off a wet track and slammed into the back of a recovery tractor that had been deployed to remove Adrian Sutil’s crashed Sauber.
“Officials raised ‘double yellow flags’ after the accident by Sutil, which means drivers had to slow down to the speed that they can immediately stop, but unfortunately Bianchi’s car aquaplaned right at the time and ran into the accident site, which was bad luck,” Suzuka circuit spokesman Masa-michi Miyazaki said.
“Admittedly, rain was coming and the road was wet, but not heavy enough to halt the race, and I believe the race officials made the same judgement.”
The sport’s governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said that president Jean Todt has asked FIA race director Charlie Whiting to carry out a detailed report into the precise circumstances of the accident.
The crash brought a premature end to Sunday’s race, with winner Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the paddock turning their attention to the Frenchman, a graduate of Ferrari’s young driver academy.
The Marussia Formula One team acknowledged a “huge outpouring of support and affection for Jules and the team at this very difficult time” and yesterday the FIA said he was in a “critical but stable condition” at the Mie Prefectural General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi.
Bianchi’s accident was the most serious involving a driver at a grand prix weekend since Brazilian Felipe Massa suffered near-fatal head injuries in Hungary in 2009 after being hit on the helmet by a bouncing spring shed from a car in front.
Massa made a full recovery and was racing for Williams in Japan on Sunday.
Despite that, Formula One remains proud of its improved safety record and constantly strives to make cars safer, but acknowledges the sport will always be dangerous.
“We have done so much for safety,” Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told reporters yesterday.
“These days, you see an accident on the track and the driver undoes his safety belt, flips off his steering wheel and jumps out unharmed.
“But things happen and we have to find out the cause. It’s difficult for me to say what happened and it will be for an inquiry to find out exactly what did go on.
“This happened to a young man who is very close to us all and that has caused a terrible shock for everyone. Our thoughts are with him and his family.”