Race Direction brought out the red flag after just two laps at Suzuka due to heavy rain which led to several incidents on the first lap, including an accident for Carlos Sainz exiting the hairpin heading towards Spoon.
Pierre Gasly was the last driver to return to the pitlane once the red flag came out, and onboard footage from his AlphaTauri showed that he had passed very close to an extraction tractor that had come onto the track to retrieve Sainz’s car. , still with the rest of the single-seaters rolling on the asphalt and at a considerable speed by the Frenchman.
Quickly and after a tremendous scare, the French driver showed his frustration through his team radio: “God! What is that crane doing on the track? What is that crane doing on the track?!” Gasly yelled very upset. “I’ve walked past her. This is unacceptable. Remember what happened. I can’t believe it.”
This footage comes just eight years after Jules Bianchi suffered a series of serious head injuries after colliding with an extraction crane also in heavy rain on the same Suzuka track. Bianchi died of his injuries nine months later.
That incident sparked a huge discussion among the Formula 1 community, with GPDA director Alex Wurz calling for changes to the regulations: “I think we have to discuss the fact that there is a tractor on the track. I prefer to be brief: This should NEVER happen, guys.”
The FIA explained that the red flag was due “to the worsening of the meteorological conditions and to the necessary repair works for the track. The race will resume at 14:50 local Japanese time (6:50 BST)”, although finally that start was also postponed.
The unacceptable incident will be investigated after the race, as reported by the stewards during the suspension of the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
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