2014 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka

[Jano11]

He did a bad job, a life is on the line right now. How can you call that fantastic?
And I have already blamed the organizers for not holding the race earlier, in this very thread.

20 years with no one being killed cannot be classed as a bad job.
And if im entitled to you "freedom of speech crap" then im entiltled to say its probably you suffering from Alzheimers. But i wont because making accusations without knowing is pointless and no correct. If your willing to blame him for what happens to Jules, then i hope you thank him for the 100's of races where no one has been hurt.

He can thank Max for those 20 years without dead drivers, marshals still died meanwhile, and his push for more safety after those tragic races in 1994.
Making the cars safer isn't one of Charlie's good deeds, people with a drive and vision have done that, luckily.

[krisfx]

I point my finger at Jules.
Double Yellows have been waved long before sutil even came out of the car.

The next finger to point is on the information system for the drivers. I think they need two conspicuous lamps in the car that flash whatever colour flag is being waved in an area.

The drivers do get two conspicuous lights in the car that flash the colour of flags being waved. In fact they normally get six.

[Oakstreet]

I point my finger at Jules.
I have a hidden confidence that he should recover after receiving some world class care.

I kept watching how Sutil went in there and how other cars have been there in the past and all the time, it was the cars going either side ways or backwards as the oversteer in that corner turns the car around and before the car can take 360 degree, the trap stops the car from further turning. So, I do have a confidence that its not head on as the rear is totally destroyed, driver cocoon remain intact and front left tyre is destroyed after hitting the wall. It is mostly that the car has hit the JCB rearward and an after impact, turned to hit the tyre barrier with left front.

Gravel trap was replaced by tarmac before this race, if I'm correct. That could change the way Bianchi spun off.

[stuartpengs]

Double waved yellows may be good enough on dry track. In the wet, during the intensifying rain, drivers can suddenly aquaplane even if they slow down. Probably Sutil had aquaplaned off in the first place. In my opinion in such situations the SC should be mandatory before any crane gets on the track. That should be the lesson from today and let's hope that Bianchi will not pay his life for that.

Drivers can also pit for full wets.

[FoxHound]

Hindsight is a weird thing... I don't think you can blame or put responsible to Charlie Whiting; nobody could have predicted that.

But...

Sutil added that he felt the Safety Car should have been deployed after he crashed due to the risk of another driver going off at the corner.

“With respect to this corner I think everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners and when it is getting late and the rain increases… let’s say when you have an accident there you should probably think about a Safety Car.”

but also:

Hamilton, who won the race, said it was not unusual for the Safety Car not to be used in such circumstances.

“That’s what they do all the time,” he told reporters at Suzuka. “That’s normal protocol just to get cars off the track for safety.”

“If the car was sitting there and someone would have gone off, they’d have hit the car. And there’s the yellow flag, and with the yellow flags you’re supposed to have a big lift, especially when it’s double yellow.”

Double yellow is clear turbo.... big accident, be prepared to stop. That is safety car speed in the wet. And even if the safety car had been deployed, it would've come out a mile ahead of the incident.

[JimClarkFan]

Supposedly Salo, one of the race stewarts, and who has seen the footage said Bianchi got a very hard hit to the head

[Jano11]

Hindsight is a weird thing... I don't think you can blame or put responsible to Charlie Whiting; nobody could have predicted that.

But...

Sutil added that he felt the Safety Car should have been deployed after he crashed due to the risk of another driver going off at the corner.

“With respect to this corner I think everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners and when it is getting late and the rain increases… let’s say when you have an accident there you should probably think about a Safety Car.”

but also:

Hamilton, who won the race, said it was not unusual for the Safety Car not to be used in such circumstances.

“That’s what they do all the time,” he told reporters at Suzuka. “That’s normal protocol just to get cars off the track for safety.”

“If the car was sitting there and someone would have gone off, they’d have hit the car. And there’s the yellow flag, and with the yellow flags you’re supposed to have a big lift, especially when it’s double yellow.”

Sutil addresses the issue from the POV of someone who saw the accident first hand, when you see him at the scene of the accident he looks very very upset and sad.

Hamilton doesn't say it was right or wrong, only that they do this often.
Plus we do not know if Bianchi did lift or not. If aquaplaning was the cause then lift or no lift he was just a passenger and inertia was driving the car.

[Jano11]

15 cars need not crash at the same place, two is enough.

And as soon as 2 cars crashed, he sent out the safety car. So whats the problem

Too late, the 2nd driver is already unconscious, that's the problem.

[kalinka]

Hamilton in Germany this year >
“I was really concerned for the marshals. It was really concerning,” the Mercedes driver told reporters.
When you come round that corner at serious speed and then there are marshals standing not far away from where you’re driving past, for me that’s the closest it’s been for a long, long time.”

Was it even double yellow this time ? Or just yellow..I'm not sure now.

[FrukostScones]

looking grim

https://twitter.com/tgruener

[SiLo]

It looks like Bianchi went in there at quite some speed though, even the crash structures are ruined which withstand stupid forces during crashes.

Personally I think they should run the same system as the WEC. Where as soon as they enter the yellow zone the cars are all limited to one speed, kind of like putting the pit lane limiter on. That way all drivers reduce their speed to something reasonable, and you don't get one being cheeky and going a bit faster, and you also don't get the issue of them not seeing waved flags, or claiming they didn't see them.

[Writinglife]

More like "Looking completely standard for a motorsport accident involving a potential serious injury". Can I please suggest that we refrain from speculation on the extent of Bianchi's condition until we know something? Its in danger of turning into another Schumacher situation where we end up arguing with each other other predictions involving a man's life.

[i70q7m7ghw]

It looks like Bianchi went in there at quite some speed though, even the crash structures are ruined which withstand stupid forces during crashes.

Personally I think they should run the same system as the WEC. Where as soon as they enter the yellow zone the cars are all limited to one speed, kind of like putting the pit lane limiter on. That way all drivers reduce their speed to something reasonable, and you don't get one being cheeky and going a bit faster, and you also don't get the issue of them not seeing waved flags, or claiming they didn't see them.

No that's dangerous, if you suddenly cut the power you can trigger off power oversteer which could result in a nasty crash. Putting the pit limiter on would be like going from 5th to 1st gear in a road car.

The crane shouldn't have been on the circuit unless the SC was out. There have been a few near misses this year in similar situations.

It's not fair to point fingers at anyone here, it's a whole multitude of things coming together to produce an unfortunately result.

We don't know if the FIA ask for the crane to recover the car, or if the marshall's took it upon themselves to recover the car.

[MercedesAMGSpy]

Impressed by Lewis Hamilton, that was a great drive. I thought Nico had a problem wit his car, but I read that's setup related, he has to deliver the next rounds.

Jules, keep fighting mate.

[siskue2005]

Edit: delete