Bianchi Accident: FIA Confirms Investigation
The president of the International Automobile Federation, Jean Todt, reportedly asked Charlie Whiting to produce a report on the circumstances of Jules Bianchi's serious accident during the Japanese Grand Prix of Formula 1.
After Jules Bianchi’s accident during the Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA reportedly launched an investigation to understand the circumstances and draw the necessary conclusions.
The Daily Telegraph indicates that Jean Todt, the president of the FIA, allegedly asked Charlie Whiting, the FIA’s safety delegate and race director, to produce a report on the exact circumstances of the collision.
Jules Bianchi lost control of his Marussia at turn 7 of the Suzuka circuit and crashed violently into a recovery vehicle that was working to secure Adrian Sutil’s Sauber, which had gone off track on the previous lap. The Frenchman suffered a severe head injury and is in a very critical condition.
Despite the busy schedule of the discipline, which will take part in free practice for the Russian Grand Prix of Formula 1 starting this Friday, the report on the accident is expected in the coming days, even before Sunday’s race, according to the Daily Telegraph. The Marussia’s telemetry will be studied, and testimonies from race stewards and track marshals will be collected.
On his part, Bernie Ecclestone, holder of the commercial rights and president of the discipline, explained to The Times that he was seeking answers: « It is difficult for me to say what happened and an investigation will be needed to find out exactly what occurred. We have done so much for safety. Nowadays, you see an accident on the track and the driver undoes his harness, removes his steering wheel, and emerges unscathed. »
« I have always said that if I had an accident, I would like it to be in a Formula 1 car because they are the safest in the world. But these things happen, and we must find the cause. It happened to a young man who was too close to all of us, and it caused a terrible shock for everyone. Our thoughts are with him and his family, » he added.
Finally, Max Mosley, the former president of the FIA who had been involved in challenging F1’s safety following the accidents of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola and especially the accident of Karl Wendlinger in Monaco in 1994, spoke to Sky Sports. For him, all that needed to be done was done during the Grand Prix. I think what happened at Suzuka was very unfortunate, it was an exceptional accident. I really can’t blame the people involved: the stewards or the race director, or any of those people.
He revisits the idea once discussed of moving the Grand Prix earlier on Sunday: « If someone wants to move [the race], then there must be a discussion. But it is very difficult to move it in these situations. If you move it forward by two hours, there is no guarantee it won’t rain at that time and you might be shifting it from a moment when the start would have been safe to a time when the start will be dangerous to take. Moving the schedule earlier wasn’t really a solution. »
Update at 14:50: in the early afternoon, the FIA confirmed the information to the BBC: « This report is still being developed as it involves the cross-referencing of many sources of information. The goal is for it to be as complete and detailed as possible to understand the accident exactly. »
