Japanese Grand Prix: Memories of Jules Bianchi death trigger anger over recovery truck on track
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Recovery trucks were deployed to remove Carlos Sainz's Ferrari after he aquaplaned off on the opening lap
Formula 1 drivers and team principals condemned race officials for putting a recovery vehicle on track in wet conditions at the Japanese Grand Prix.
They called the decision "unacceptable" in the context of the death of French driver Jules Bianchi following a crash in the same race eight years ago.
Bianchi suffered fatal head injuries when he hit a similar recovery tractor.
Pierre Gasly passed the truck at high speed on Sunday, and said: "I'm just extremely grateful that I am here."
The Alpha Tauri driver, a childhood friend of Bianchi, added to Sky Sports: "How can there be a crane, not even in the gravel, on the race track, while we are still on the track? I don't understand.
"We lost Jules already. We all lost an amazing guy, eight years ago, at the same track, in the same conditions with the crane.
"It was disrespectful to Jules, it's disrespectful to his family and to all of us. We are risking all lives out there. We are doing the best job in the world, but what we are asking is to at least keep us safe."
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, Bianchi's godson, said: "We shouldn't see these things. Something happened in 2014 and we should learn from it. I hope we learn from it and that we don't see these things again."
And Bianchi's father Philippe wrote on Instagram: "No respect for the life of the driver, no respect for Jules' memory. Incredible."
Jules Bianchi died in July 2015 after nine months in a coma following his crash at Suzuka in 2014
The FIA has confirmed there will be an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deployment of recovery vehicles at Suzuka.
The race had been suspended and the cars were running behind the safety car before the recovery vehicle was released on to the track to recover Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, which had crashed after the hairpin.
But the drivers felt that because the track was so slippery, the lorry should not have been out.
Gasly was still driving at high speed to catch up with the back of the pack after a pit stop at the end of the first lap to repair damage caused by the Frenchman hitting an advertising hoarding dislodged by Sainz's car.
Gasly was later penalised for speeding under red flag conditions - officials said he was going more than 250km/h when completing a lap after the race had been stopped.
However, the red flag was shown only a second or two before Gasly passed the lorry.
"I got scared," Gasly said. "If I had lost the car in a similar way to Carlos... it doesn't matter the speed, I would've just died. Simple as that.
"It's already dangerous enough and today I just feel it was unnecessary. We could've waited one more minute to get back in the pit lane and then put the tractors on track."
Gasly's anger was reflected by other drivers up and down the pit lane.
"Wtf. How's this happened!? We lost a life in this situation years ago," McLaren driver Lando Norris said.
"We risk our lives, especially in conditions like this. We wanna race. But this… Unacceptable."
Red Bull's Sergio Perez described the incident as "the lowest point we've seen in the sport in years", while Alpine's Esteban Ocon said: "We lost enough friends with these vehicles in the past."
Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel, racing in F1 at Suzuka for the final time, added: "The tractor shouldn't have been there. The guys that drive the tractor, they get a command I suppose? A lot of things we need to learn from and understand. Today we were just lucky."
Alex Wurz, the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said: "We need to discuss a tractor on track... We can keep it short: this must not happen, guys."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "It is totally unacceptable. We lost Jules Bianchi here and that should never, ever happen, so there needs to be a full investigation as to why there was a recovery vehicle on the circuit.
"Checo [Sergio Perez] reported it to us and in those horrendous conditions where visibility was zero, extremely dangerous."
Perez added on social media: "How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on track? We lost Jules because of that mistake. What happened today is totally unacceptable! I hope this is the last time ever I see a crane on track!"
In a statement confirming its investigation, the FIA said: "While it is normal practice to recover cars under safety car and red flag conditions, due to the particular circumstances and also taking into account feedback from of a number of drivers, the FIA has launched a thorough review of the events involving the deployment of recovery vehicles during the Japanese Grand Prix.
"This is part of the common practice of debrief and analysis of all race incidents to ensure continual improvements of processes and procedures."
Pierre Gasly collided with an advertising hoarding and also passed a recovery truck at speed in a chaotic opening to the race
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