[Der ABT]

Flag station was after the wreck...they look downtrack and the green indicates the track is green after the wreck which it should....

Incident happened under local yellow only, Double yellow/safetey car did not happen until after.
Also there are no track lights like most of the other tracks for yellows etc which may have helped since visability wasnt the greatest.

I was hoping the car being picked up by the crane acted as a cantelever and is why the tractor jumped up...but i seriously doubt it with how little the car weighs...
the tractors should have some sort of shield to protect the cars from going under like that....image if he had hit the middle lengthwise.....
the video shows his head just disappear...i really hope he pulls through.....he had just been part of an interview with Will buxton that aired on NBC i think it was.

wonder if closed cockpits will be brought up agian like it was after massa's incident.

makes me think a little differently about hot pulls,,, yes i drive slower but if something mechanical happens.....that flat bed is scary (thinking of Yani's wreck)

[HoodPin]

Originally Posted by Der ABT

Flag station was after the wreck...they look downtrack and the green indicates the track is green after the wreck which it should....

Incident happened under local yellow only, Double yellow/safetey car did not happen until after.
Also there are no track lights like most of the other tracks for yellows etc which may have helped since visability wasnt the greatest.

I was hoping the car being picked up by the crane acted as a cantelever and is why the tractor jumped up...but i seriously doubt it with how little the car weighs...
the tractors should have some sort of shield to protect the cars from going under like that....image if he had hit the middle lengthwise.....
the video shows his head just disappear...i really hope he pulls through.....he had just been part of an interview with Will buxton that aired on NBC i think it was.

wonder if closed cockpits will be brought up agian like it was after massa's incident.

makes me think a little differently about hot pulls,,, yes i drive slower but if something mechanical happens.....that flat bed is scary (thinking of Yani's wreck)

Thanks for clarifying the Safety Car status. After reading some additional articles, appears the SC was not out, only local Yellow. I was initially recalling what I saw during the broadcast, and I'm thinking now that Bianci's crash may have already happened before they actually reported it; I recall the race being under SC when they first mentioned Bianci's incident. I may have to go back and re-watch the broadcast.

Regardless, I'm hoping that Bianci pulls through. That was a nasty hit.

[Potomac-Greg]

Originally Posted by Der ABT

wonder if closed cockpits will be brought up again like it was after massa's incident.

I'll admit I'm an open-cockpit apologist , but you have to focus on the cage not the cockpit. A bubble canopy might have prevented Massa's incident by deflecting that spring, but unless you run a vertical upright (front cage) inside the bubble, this incident could have turned out the same. Unless there's a forward cage, the bubble cockpit is only good for small impacts and aero.

I'm pretty sure a Daytona Prototype uses a front hoop. Not sure about Lemans prototypes (given that some are open cockpit).

[Der ABT]

Originally Posted by Potomac-Greg

I'll admit I'm an open-cockpit apologist , but you have to focus on the cage not the cockpit. A bubble canopy might have prevented Massa's incident by deflecting that spring, but unless you run a vertical upright (front cage) inside the bubble, this incident could have turned out the same. Unless there's a forward cage, the bubble cockpit is only good for small impacts and aero.

I'm pretty sure a Daytona Prototype uses a front hoop. Not sure about Lemans prototypes (given that some are open cockpit).

oh i hear ya, i believe the talk indicated a version with a front hoop....i could be wrong but i remember talk and people complaining it would be like LMP1 cars....

[racer]

I watched the race today knowing what happened.

If you rewatch, you will notice a couple of things
1) It sure was taking a long time for the crane to move one car (the Sauber), right? 2 laps when the crane was right there? Then you notice that the rear tire on the crane is flat when Hobbs et all are wondering if it is stuck.

2) Just before the safety car launches out of the pits, you can see the M-B Wagon with the doctors take off. Clearly rushing to the Bianchi incident. No World feed shared, no on car video released. Bernie clamping everyone down of course which is understandable.

Sad incident for sure. Hope Bianchi is ok. Had I not known the results before watching, when the coverage indicated he was taken to hospital "unconscious" all I would have thought about was how I watched the Senna incident and how they proclaimed him DOA after leaving the track property.

The video is quite shocking.

[roundel]

I am surprised his incar video is not available. I thought all of the cars incar were available live to subscribers in Europe.

[JmuRiz]

I'm sure there was/is one, but is FIA property and no way we'll end up seeing it. Just like how they keep blocking that fan video on YouTube because it shows green flags waiving over the crane right before the crash

[bretster]

In F1 there are various stages of yellow flags prior to the safety car being deployed. Standing, single waved, and double waved. The section of track was under double waved yellow for the Sutil incident, which means the driver should slow considerably, and be prepared to alter line or stop if needed. Race control has the means to verify if the drivers slow enough in the sector, and this information should come up on the steering wheel or dash of each car. Seems the double yellow was not heeded, or the conditions changed too quickly for Bianchi to react.

I am really wondering about 3 things here:

1) I always thought that if the medical helicopter could not fly, the race would be red flagged. I heard that the chopper was grounded, so I'm wondering why the race continued.

2) I can recall an incident in the rain in Brazil some years ago where JPM, MS, and maybe another car were all piled up together at the barriers at the exit to the Senna Esses after going off as the result of different incidents. The Sutil car came to rest on the outside of a high speed corner. Given the conditions and without the benefit of hindsight, should the safety car have been deployed immediately?

3) In F1, how much influence does race control have over the marshals or vice versa? The marshals in Japan are known to be very brave, effective, and quick. Maybe they were a bit too quick in this case. It would seem that with the Sutil car at the exit of a high speed corner and given the conditions, race control would have instructed the marshals to use caution or stay put, or the marshals themselves would have expressed some concern about going out unless the safety car was deployed.

I do not really have a problem with the race being held in the conditions present on Sunday, but it does seem to me that race control lost the plot there at the end.

[N Fotouhi]

Originally Posted by roundel

I am surprised his incar video is not available. I thought all of the cars incar were available live to subscribers in Europe.

The camera is attached above the driver's head in the vicinity of the roll over bar. That is the section that is missing on Bianchi's car. The Marussia mechanics in the garage may have been watching the in car feed, thus their reaction on TV when the world feed switched to the garage shot after the accident.

[KFJ]

Originally Posted by JmuRiz

I'm sure there was/is one, but is FIA property and no way we'll end up seeing it. Just like how they keep blocking that fan video on YouTube because it shows green flags waiving over the crane right before the crash

That bucket is after the crash, not before. It is right after, but after nonetheless.