Eight years after the death of the young French driver, the appearance of another tractor after the Sainz accident provoked the anger of Gasly, Pérez and Vettel.
The soaked asphalt of Suzuka complicated the start of the Japanese GP and in the middle of the straight, shortly after leaving the studs, Sebastian Vettel left through the grass after a slight contact with Fernando Alonso. The intermediate tires did not seem to be enough for the cars to maintain control and Carlos Sainz He suffered a spin on his arrival at turn 12 that led to his retirement on the first lap. With the Ferrari stopped in a dangerous area for the rest of the competitors, the situation worsened even more, so the race director ordered the start of the safety car.
At the moment the red flags appeared on the track, a crane rushed out onto the tarmac to remove Sainz’s SF-75. At that moment, Pierre Gasley appeared in the area, passing very close to the extraction vehicle, in a scene that brought to mind the tragedy of jules bianchiwho died in 2015 after a similar incident on this same circuit.
Sainz’s SF-75 had ripped off a billboard that ended up being carried away by Gasly. path of the boxesWith the idea of removing such a heavy impediment, the French launched a furious message on the radio. “This is unacceptable! What happened? I can’t believe it,” exclaimed the AlphaTauri pilot. And his outrage was shared by some fellow grill members.
Investigation to Gasly
Sergio Perezwinner last Sunday in Singapore, sent another similar message to Hugh Bird, your track engineer. “Isn’t it clear that we never want to see a crane on the track?” asked the Mexican from Red Bull. Vettel joined the criticism. “Next time they should let us know if there’s a damn tractor on the track,” said the four-time world champion.
Despite the drivers’ anger, the FIA’s first reaction was to open an investigation into Gasly. In the stewards’ opinion, “during the red flag period, car 10 reached speeds of up to 250 km/h as it passed the accident site.”
The break in Sukuza, which lasted for more than an hour, also served to Philippe Bianche send a crude message on your social networks. “There is no respect for the life of the pilot. No respect for the memory of Jules. Incredible,” said the father of the great hope of French motorsport.
Finally, Alexander Würzpresident of the Drivers’ Association, also showed his dismay: “We need to talk about the tractor on the track and we can be brief: this must not happen, guys,” the Austrian tweeted.
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