Bianchi Accident: Lighting and Conditions in Question?
At the time of Jules Bianchi's accident, the driving conditions were difficult due to low visibility and unpredictable aquaplaning. However, according to several drivers, they still did not justify an immediate stoppage of the race.
One of the first witnesses of the accident was Adrian Sutil. The Sauber driver’s off-track excursion (from which he emerged unharmed) led to the arrival of the notoriously ill-fated tow vehicle. For the German, there was definitely aquaplaning, but it was mainly the low visibility at the end of the race that was more than concerning.
At the end of the race, we had more rain and the weather was dark, so there was less and less visibility, whereas this corner [turn 7] is difficult from start to finish. When it’s dark, you can’t see where the wet areas are, and that’s why I lost the car, which really surprised me. Bianchi had the same crash as me: he had aquaplaning but only one lap later.
A significant statement came from Rob Smedley, the performance director of Williams F1, who pointed to the brightness of the race: « I would say that in my fifteen-year career in Formula 1, it was the darkest I have ever seen. I must say I was relieved when the safety car came out. »
The rain had therefore intensified during the last part of the race, but was it to the point of having to stop it immediately? On this point, opinions diverge at Williams. Felipe Massa is one of the most upset drivers: « I couldn’t count on good visibility throughout the race. In my opinion, we started the race too early, and we ended it too late. Five laps before the checkered flag, before the safety car came in, I was shouting on the radio that there was too much water. It was dangerous. »
Valtteri Bottas, on the contrary, believes he has experienced harsher conditions than here. Until this event, the Finn continues, nothing special had happened. I think it’s really a really, really unfortunate situation. His compatriot Kimi Räikkönen also thinks that the conditions were difficult, but not unusually difficult. The race winner, Lewis Hamilton, finally believes that the conditions were not really that bad. I’ve experienced much worse races in terms of aquaplaning, he continued.
From the synthesis of the statements, it seems that it is indeed the presence of the tow truck that is at the root of the severity of the accident. But there is also – as in any accident – an element of bad luck: « To lose the car, it was a particularly unfortunate timing and place, » summarizes Sebastian Vettel.
