F1 2014

[some11]

http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/6619993/e2683a2f/bianchi_crash_formule_1_japan.html

It's almost as if those tractors were designed to take someone's head off in the event a car careened of the track and hit it.

The FIA needs to do two things, first get whatever company they have a contract with to custom design a tractor that doesn't allow a car to slide underneath it and two enforce a safety car before any recovery begins in such conditions.

 

[madunit]

The safety car would be deployed but the leaders go flat out until they get to it as does every other driver. In this case, Bianchi may have already crashed. Safety zones ( ie deploy pit lane speed limiters) may be a better answer as they can be deployed immediately. Sutil crashed and Bianchi crashed almost exactly one lap later. The regulations would not have helped. The only rule that may have was to slow down for yellows, but this is routinely ignored.

Watching the replay it appeared that the safety car didn't come out until after Bianchi crashed (As the safety car left the pits accompanied by the medic car)

So in low visibility on a very fast and tricky corner at the best of times, but even moreso in the wet and very dark skies, seeing a bloke on the side waving a flag may have been a bit harder to do.

 

[Parra]

That is right. Visibility was obviously an issue. Even if the SC was deployed for Sutil's accident Bianchi may still have had his as in all likelihood he would have continued racing until he reached the SC lineup, as all the drivers do. Maybe the FIA will deploy a SC before any cranes etc enter the track, or an enforced slow zone - although this may not be without problems either. SC is a straightforward process on oval tracks, less so on road courses. In addition to slow zones, Le Mans also implemented multiple safety cars on track at once. Not sure this would work on smaller, tighter F1 tracks.

 

[ek999]

Why is there a guy waving a green flag above where they were removing the other guys car? Shouldn't they be under yellow until they have gone well past the crash site?

 

[Jimbo]

I agree with you.

The bigger question though should be, why didn't the race start two hours earlier, not two hours later, when this weather could've been largely avoided. They knew there was a typhoon bearing down on the race. Honda wouldn't delay the race out of a fear of lost revenue from ticket sales. I don't know how many people they thought they'd get to attend a race in the face of a typhoon.

In those situations, why doesn't the FIA just pay Honda the shortfall in lost ticket revenue and change the race time. It's not like the FIA is strapped for cash.

The Japanese are insane when it comes to F1

They could run the race at 3am and it would still be a sellout

 

[madunit]

The FIA could have very easily known about the typhoon and roughly when it would impact Suzuka, even a few days out.

They could have advised of an earlier start the day before practice, it would've been ample time to reschedule the race.

 

[Parra]

Even if it were dry there really shouldn't be a scenario where a car can collide with a tractor/crane at race speed. The video of the incident is horrific.

 

[Jimbo]

The FIA could have very easily known about the typhoon and roughly when it would impact Suzuka, even a few days out.

They could have advised of an earlier start the day before practice, it would've been ample time to reschedule the race.

Yep. Would have been a piece of piss, and the locals wouldn't have cared

Then we would have had a proper race in full daylight, as opposed to 15 laps or so trundling along behind the SC

 

[some11]

All this talk about what could have happened before is irrelevant in my opinion, if a car is able to go under a tractor then you take the necessary steps to ensure it's never able to physically happen again.

Drivers ignore yellows all the time, drivers spin off even under safety car - eliminate the possibility of this accident being reproduced.

Either redesign them or have a boom crane behind the barriers at corners where statistically most drivers have gone off like they do at Monaco.

 

[madunit]

Even if it were dry there really shouldn't be a scenario where a car can collide with a tractor/crane at race speed. The video of the incident is horrific.

You can't remove the tractor as it clears the car off the track very efficiently.

It was a freakish accident. But given the opportunities the FIA had prior to this race to make the conditions safer for drivers yet didn't, then for me, that is where the problem is.

The only way to sufficently solve the issue of the recovery vehicle is to replace it with a helicopter. Replacing it with other heavy machinery wouldn't prevent the issue.

Bianchi is reported to have been aquaplaning when he went off the track.

Something that could've been avoided if the race started earlier in drier conditions.

The scariest part of the video is knowing how light an F1 car is and how heavy a tractor is, and yet Bianchi's collision was so heavy it lifted the back wheels of the tractor off the ground and moved it.

I heard it was reported he hit the tractor at 110mph (which is about 280 odd kph I believe)

last time I watched F1 where a car hit any object at speeds like that was Massa in 2009 and before that, probably Senna.

I hope Bianchi pulls through. given the nature of the accident, it'd be an unbelievable feat if he survives.

Apparently the FIA have fast tracked a review into the incident today.

 

[Parra]

You can't remove the tractor as it clears the car off the track very efficiently.

It was a freakish accident. But given the opportunities the FIA had prior to this race to make the conditions safer for drivers yet didn't, then for me, that is where the problem is.

The only way to sufficently solve the issue of the recovery vehicle is to replace it with a helicopter. Replacing it with other heavy machinery wouldn't prevent the issue.

Bianchi is reported to have been aquaplaning when he went off the track.

Something that could've been avoided if the race started earlier in drier conditions.

The scariest part of the video is knowing how light an F1 car is and how heavy a tractor is, and yet Bianchi's collision was so heavy it lifted the back wheels of the tractor off the ground and moved it.

I heard it was reported he hit the tractor at 110mph (which is about 280 odd kph I believe)

last time I watched F1 where a car hit any object at speeds like that was Massa in 2009 and before that, probably Senna.

I hope Bianchi pulls through. given the nature of the accident, it'd be an unbelievable feat if he survives.

Apparently the FIA have fast tracked a review into the incident today.

I agree Madunit. Rather than remove the tractor, as you point out they are necessary, I'd advocate remove the speeding car. Even if he didn't hit the tractor, how close was it for the marshalls and also Sutil?

 

[some11]

If lifted the tractor because the arse end of it allowed him to go under it, if it went straight down to a safe height he would've skimmed off it into the tyre wall leaving him with merely a big shunt.

 

[Parra]

Or he might've hit it square. Impact was so hard it lifted the tractor and also sheared the vertical roll hoop from the F1 car.

 

[some11]

The cars are designed to take that impact even if they hit flush:

[youtube]AtrzvwayniM[/youtube]

Says a lot when it's safer to hit a concrete wall at 300 than a tractor at less than half that speed.

 

[Parra]

Could also advocate leaving the stranded car where it is as well. That Kubica crash highlights that as well. Even though he launches off the barrier and not the stranded car, it has the same effect. That way, there is no tractor out there at all. Although if a driver gets hurt hitting a car left on the side of the track....

 

[Storm13]

Freak accident but I don't think to much has to change, maybe look into the rules surrounding driving speed in waved yellow flags ect

 

[madunit]

Well thats another thing.

Green flags were being waved when Bianchi went off the track.

 

[Parra]

Double yellows apparently, the greens were immediately after the crash. Looks like they could've kept the yellows until the next point, but that is the protocol. It's a moot point as drivers in F1 don't slow for yellows in any case. The only thing that is penalised is overtaking under yellow.

 

[Y2Eel]

I dont understand why it wasnt a full course yellow with pace car deployed before they even tried to bring the crane onto the track.. It was pissing down rain making it more dangerous as soon as the other car hit the wall they should have been all over it slowing the cars down..

I know most of the time they can remove the cars without a safety car but that is in the dry and where the possibility of another car coming off is a very low percentage..

 

[madunit]

Double yellows apparently, the greens were immediately after the crash. Looks like they could've kept the yellows until the next point, but that is the protocol. It's a moot point as drivers in F1 don't slow for yellows in any case. The only thing that is penalised is overtaking under yellow.

Nope, definitely Green.

You can see it in the top right of the screen in this video before Bianchi crashes

[youtube]MsCA3Qx_0wc[/youtube]