Can Bianchi's crash improve F1 safety?

Jules Bianchi crashed at yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix, striking a digger that was recovering Adrian Sutil’s Sauber after it had crashed at the same turn 7 a lap previously. He suffered a severe head injury that has been operated on and is currently in intensive care at the Mie General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi. The world of Formula 1 is now reflecting on what could have been done better to prevent such an accident happening again. They must analyse but there also must not be knee jerk reactions that affect the sport in a detrimental way.

Formula 1 has not suffered a death at a Grand Prix for over twenty years now. Since 1994 the sport has had a few broken legs, a couple of concussions and the dreadful accident of Felipe Massa during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend in 2009 where he fractured his skull from which he made a full recovery. It has come so far in terms of safety but there is always room for improvement. But first of all would we even be discussing safety if Bianchi had missed the recovery vehicle? Probably not but we should have been as regards recovery vehicles on track.

When rain is pouring down and getting stronger and a car has already gone off with light fading should there be an immediate safety car? There are many instances where if one car has gone off another might follow. Look at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix or the 2007 European Grand Prix where cars only just missed a recovery vehicle. Only a few weeks ago for the American round of the World Endurance Championship, over 10 cars went off at the first turn on the same lap because the rain had become too much. These warnings were not taken on board but such is hindsight.

Yesterday the original Sutil crash was covered by double waved yellow flags, which means slow down and be prepared to stop. It alerts the drivers to the presence of machinery and marshals on or near to the track. However as much as drivers might lift off, they’re still going at speed. Perhaps in future in these sort of conditions, and even in the dry, before a digger or other safety vehicle can come on track a safety car must be called to neutralise the race.

Martin Brundle almost had a similar accident in 1994 at the same circuit, just missing the recovery vehicle but striking a marshal, he has been advocating something being done about this for years.

Another option if possible would be to make circuits have more cranes so as to pluck the cars off the track without the need for a recovery vehicle, although it wouldn’t always be possible. Therefore we can eliminate the use of a safety car to slow racing after every accident which is what 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has said today.

I’m not sure all incidents need to be covered by the safety car, in the Formula 1 world where we have increasingly sanitised race tracks with large run off areas, it’s not always necessary. It’s no coincidence that Suzuka is a favourite amongst the drivers because it’s a challenge but it’s also one of the more dangerous with limited run off, it gives them an extra thrill. However, maybe in the aim of prevention it is time to deploy the safety car if ever there’s a car on track that needs a recovery vehicle, especially in the rain.

There are also questions about whether the race should have been moved to an earlier start time because of the impending typhoon approaching the area. In the end as the drivers have admitted, conditions weren’t too bad. I think it should have been moved as they had advance warning of possible torrential rain, but purely because the 3pm start time doesn’t leave a lot of room in case a race is delayed as dark descends at 5.30pm at this time of year in Suzuka. The FIA asked if circuit owners wanted it moved but it was deemed unnecessary because of ticket holders getting to the track on time. I don’t think it had anything to do with TV coverage especially as the FIA were the ones asking if it should be moved.

Further to that it was wet all day, the Bianchi accident could have happened at any time of day such were the conditions affecting Suzuka so in the end when the race started had no on the accident and the organisers were right in the end. After scouring the F1 press, there was another call from the Guardian newspaper for canopies covering the cockpits.

The head is the most exposed part of a driver in single seater racing and there have been times when you wince as a car comes near a drivers head such as Vitantonio Liuzzi launching near to Michael Schumacher's head in Abu Dhabi 2010 or Romain Grosjean going over the top of Fernando Alonso's head in Belgium 2012. Recent tests regarding them are ongoing. In Bianchi’s accident I don’t think a canopy would have made much difference, in fact it could have made things worse. It looks like his car went partially underneath the digger, if it had gone headfirst a canopy might have trapped him in the cockpit, or caused more damage to his person.

A canopy might be good for preventing wheels or other pieces hitting the head at speed, but in an accident when striking a large vehicle such as this, which should never happen, but its debateable whether it would have made any difference. And my personal view is that covering the cockpits takes away part of the drama of Formula 1, it’s a step too far. With wheel tethers in place and helmet safety constantly being improved I don’t think there’s a need for canopies. Next they’ll want guards over the wheels which might as well make them look like small LMP1 cars from the WEC, you just need to cover the suspension.

Formula 1 and single seater racing in general is open wheel and open cockpit, I think it’s part of the essence of the sport. Pick the right spot at a race track and there isn’t something more impressive than seeing a driver battle with his machinery.

I think as long as Formula 1 learns from this accident then they can keep the sport at an acceptable danger level because Grand Prix racing is inherently dangerous, it’s never going to be completely safe when you strap a man or woman into a 200mph car and ask them to push it to the maximum. It of course has to be an acceptable risk for the drivers to participate, although if things hadn’t become so safe, I don’t think there’s a single driver out there who wouldn’t still be pushing for all their worth.

I often think of F1 drivers as modern day gladiators. Their arena is the race tracks of the world, their weapons the machines they drive to the limit, sometimes beyond. It’s hard to grasp just what kind of skill they possess to keep their cars on the limit of adhesion as they battle wheel to wheel for the glory of winning. It’s as true now as it was when the sport started.

For many drivers that danger is like a drug, the thrill, the surge of adrenalin as they push the fastest cars in the world in their pursuit of victory. It’s like no feeling in the world to them dancing on the line between life and death. Obviously they want to race in the knowledge that everything is being done in regards to safety but you know it can’t be completely safe, I think many of them like it that way, witness Kimi Raikkonen, foot flat to the floor in Spa ploughing through a cloud of smoke at the top of Eau Rouge which he had no idea what it was covering. Foolhardy or impressive?

For us mere mortals watching from the comfort of our sofas it’s an admiration that these supremely fit athletes push their machines and bodies in conditions that we would immediately wilt in. Theirs is a sport that can take them to the edge of life as they confront extreme heat, battle the rain, the g-forces, and they do it willingly to feel alive, to be the best, to live their dreams. They are singularly focused people who will not give up on what they want. Most drivers who reach Formula 1 have been craving a desire to be in the ultimate sporting combination of man and machine since they were children.

They’ve pushed themselves, fought hard, never backed down and maintained their passion and drive to succeed through all kinds of sporting setbacks, but they’ll pick themselves up and continue to push to achieve what they set out to do.

Even the drivers at the back of the grid are exceptionally gifted. Bianchi is one such driver, meant for greater things than the brilliant two points he took for ninth place driving for back of the grid Marussia. A Ferrari Academy driver, he seemed destined to move up the grid and go for glory.

At Suzuka he was once again leading the Marussia and Caterham battle pushing hard in a car that in general terms is not a match for the midfield bunch let alone the top cars. But he was doing something he loved, pushing to the maximum. Hopefully he can make a full recovery from his injuries and continue his rise up the Formula 1 ranks. 


all photos taken from autosport.com except canopy picture from formula1.com