2014 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - RACE ***SPOILERS***

I had the same thoughts: reminded me of Senna, full speed straight into the wall/tractor

Maybe something broke on the Marussia.

 

Yes it looks like. Sutil spun because of aquaplaning but he went in straight on...No brakes?
As far as I can see the video is already deleted...

 

I am not 100% certain but hasn't there been a picture circulating earlier that showed him spinning with rear wheels digging up gravel?

Edit: found image via google from http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4383339.ece/alternates/s615/Jules-Bianchi.jpg

I would assume it is from yesterday but tabloids tend to grab something else at times...
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That flag station was after the incident though - SOP is to wave the green to signal a clear track from that point on. *Maybe*, and this is of course pure speculation, Jules saw that and got on the power a little too early? Maybe there's an argument that the section immediately following any incident should also stay yellow? But it's never been that way in the past.

It's got to reach out and pick up an 850kg race car. Physics is physics.......

Ian

 

Totally worst case scenario for Bianchi. That is just a horrible crash. We can only hope he pulls through, but will he ever drive a racingcar again? I doubt it.

 

On the video the crash happens at 1:12, the green flag is still being waved 12 seconds later at 1:24 ..... He hesitates a second right after the crash then resumes ..... Total shock I think.
DEFINATELY a freak event and very tragic.

 

I think it's a case of which is the bigger hazard: leaving a car that won't move on the track in changing conditions or removing it with a crane that is functional and has a much smaller window of time as a hazardous threat.

Just terrible luck, imo....

 

No the green flag was directly over Sutil's car.

We've seen much smaller equipment used to move F1 cars.

 

I don't think the problem is with the equipment moving the cars. They need to be big and poweful machines to get where they need to be and effectively arrive, lift, and move out as quicly as possible. It's just a really really freak accident. I kind of had the same reaction when Montoya hit the jet dryer truck during yellow. You watch that and think how can that ever happen? I mean not the same thing... but you scratch your head when things like this happen.

i think you have to set the shock aside and assess the situation as it is. I mean, how many times in the last 20 years has a retrieval vehicle been involved in an incident like that? If it's once a year... than yeah... something needs to be done. If this is the first incident like this... I'm sure there are other circumstances that need to be address first before the truck itself.

Should the yellow track speed be slower or should there be a lower mandatory speed around the caution area?

Ricksb is right... it's difficult to tell from the footage to get a true perspective of speed and what not, but it sure looked fast. Would the same thing have happened if the caution speed in that area was say the same as the pit speed? I don't know.

 

He was on the brakes, but it looks like he slid onto the escape road and it was a short distance to the crane. Just bad luck.

 

It looks that way - I'm sure partly as a result of the 'flattening' effect of long lenses. But, we're looking at the first station *past* the incident, and again, SOP is for that station to show the green.

Possibly. But would it have made any difference?

Ian

 

I'm surprised it got deleted. That really reeks of censorship.

 

I remember watching live on TV when Rega crashed into a parked car. They said that made his injuries worse. Double edged sword

 

Video has been pulled, but there are many links out there for GFYs/GIFs. For those that still want to see it, here's one link.

Word of warning to those who haven't seen it, it's pretty brutal.

http://zippy.gfycat.com/HiddenSleepyIceblueredtopzebra.webm

 

Could be a distorted perspective but you'd think that they'd excerise an abundance of caution under that situation.

Would it have made a difference? Tough to say but it certainly wouldn't have been worse.

 

That's exactly what I said yesterday, but I was lectured about it

 

Its a tough room.
What can I say?

 

Unfortunately, SOP for FOM. I don't think it's anything to do with trying to censor it. A few years back remember Mclaren got in trouble for allowing some VIP to post a video shot inside their garage..... Bernie, righty or wrongly is another debate, wants to control *all* video leaving the circuit.

Damn, my little video of Senna qualifying in '89 just got me banned from Vimeo!

Ian

 

We have a few of those 'cranes' underground. That looks like a CAT version. We have Kotmasu, they nearly all look the same.

They are called IT's. *Integrated tool carriers* They can have up to 12 different tools/attachments placed on the front of it which make it very versatile.

They articulate in the middle, have good ground clearance, are fast and the only reason they use that style at the track is because they have a high lift boom on them. They can lift up to 4 metres high.

(I have also seen Telehandlers used at other tracks, entirely different machine but have an extremely high boom lift on them and a lot longer reach also)

They need the height to be able to pick the F1 cars up off the ground to take them away. The cars weigh around 600 kg, these can lift 9000 kg. Overkill for the weight of the lift, but as mentioned they need the height and they need to remove the damaged cars off the track quickly and efficiently. This is the perfect machine.

The counter weight on the rear of the machine is made out of solid steel and unfortunately.....................that is exactly where Bianchi hit at high speed.

That machine weighs around 16,000kg. To lift the rear off the ground like that was a hell of an impact. Lucky it didn't kill him instantly.

Thoughts are with him, hope he pulls through.

 

Ah yes, right. Each ticket stub states that all footage belongs to F1. Yup.

I'm glad Bernie has left me alone.

 

There's got to be a safer way.

 

very ugly... It doesn't seem to be a terribly high speed. It is just such an ugly object to hit. It looks like he might have been lifting a good part of the truck with his helmet.
The immediate concern is the head but I truly hope that his neck was strong enough to sustain that massive knock from above.

 

Nothing,I don't expect you to say anything.
I was just saying.

 

I don't understand how something this terrible could happen. Shouldn't the safety car been deployed before the crane was allowed to be any where near the track? I've seen races stopped because they were repairing impact areas. This seems like a huge screw-up and should be investigated and perhaps in the future this may not happen again.

 

Not trying to be clever here, and I'm sure Charlie is looking at it in much more depth than us, but can you name one?

Not trying to say they're perfect (obviously, they're not), but this protocol has been SOP for decades, and has served us well until now.

Ian