Bianchi Accident: “Unacceptable” for Pérez who awaits the results of the investigation

After Jules Bianchi’s accident last Sunday during the Japanese Grand Prix, Thursday in Sochi, traditionally a day for press conferences and meeting fans in the paddock, turned into a day of reflection on safety in F1.

Among the most talkative drivers, Sergio Pérez spoke at length in an interview with the media about the situation of the drivers regarding the events in Suzuka.

“It’s very difficult,” he initially stated, as quoted by Crash.net. “I am here with you guys but all the time your subconscious is thinking about our friend Jules. What happened this Sunday was a big shock for all of us. For everyone involved in the F1 paddock, it’s a big shock.”

As often in such circumstances, the pilots, aware of the risk, do not imagine it could happen to them: « You always realize that the risk is there, but you always think it can’t happen to you, that it won’t happen to you. But when you see it happen to a guy who was next to you last Sunday and now he’s no longer with you—he’s in a very difficult situation—it makes you think about a lot of things. »

He and the other drivers are firmly waiting for the results of the investigation conducted by the FIA since Sunday: « You know these things are there, and that’s why we have to work as drivers with the FIA to improve what happened on Sunday. We want clarification on what happened, all the drivers are united, and we want to know what occurred. I think there’s no point in me talking more about what happened because we want to know all the details. The FIA is currently investigating, so at least I, along with some drivers, want a full clarification of what happened and how it could have been avoided. »

« We want to ensure that we will be heard because what happened on Sunday is totally unacceptable, » the Mexican specified to Sky Sports.

He refuses to let Formula 1 rest on its laurels and its record of zero deaths in 20 years: « None of us can be happy with safety because there are always things to improve. We cannot relax, and what happened to Jules is proof of that. For his sake, for the sake of his family, we must really move forward in terms of safety regarding what happened to him. We want to move forward, we must make progress. Hopefully, in the future, you will never see an accident like that in Formula 1; having a tow truck there and then a car hitting it, that can’t happen. It’s not possible. »

He also knows that the pilots’ responsibility in the weakening of the safety effort is not negligible: « When you’re a pilot, you know you have to show the FIA that you’re lifting your foot, so that’s what you do: you try to lift your foot to prove you’re slowing down. But if we’re all honest, we know that we want to slow down as little as possible and accelerate again as soon as possible, while showing a slowdown. That’s something that probably doesn’t work in these conditions and the conditions were very difficult, so maybe the yellow flag doesn’t work at all because the conditions were extremely difficult. »

Since the crash, it has been demonstrated that the section where Jules Bianchi lost control of his Marussia and collided with the recovery vehicle was under double-yellow flag conditions. Drivers could notice this due to the flags waved by marshals, the light panels around the circuit, and the flashing LEDs on their steering wheels. Several observers have suggested the possibility of introducing slow zones in Formula 1, as used in Endurance racing, which are sections of the track where speed is limited to allow marshals or rescue teams to intervene safely.

« I think that turn was the hardest on the circuit. It was very difficult. I remember that on every lap I did, I would accelerate and always knew when the aquaplaning would happen – I always had aquaplaning there – so as soon as I started hydroplaning, I would start accelerating again. But it was the same situation throughout the race and obviously, when the rain intensified, things got worse, » he concluded, joining Adrian Sutil in this observation.