F1 - Japan Qualifying Sat 4 Oct 2014 14:30 AEST ONE HD

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

In my opinion the video should be taken down from all websites.

After seeing it I felt absolutely sick. You think straight away how anyone could survive such a shocking impact.

I highly recommend you don't watch the video.

The latest update is that he is breathing on his own after his second operation.

Live updates can be found here:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formul...pdates-4385882

[astroron (Ron)]

Williams are reported to be wanting to have F1 cars with a cockpit cover.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/29546041
A couple of points;
One it would have made not a skeric of difference whether it had a cover or not,it was the G force of the brain smashing against the skull casing that coursed the damage.
If there had been a cover it would have been crushed down on top of the driver as it went underneath the crane.
Two the temperature in the cockpit would be intolerable,plus the visibility afforded the driver would be even less than it is today.
I think they may as well just put the engines and technology into Le Mans type cars and do away with F1 if they go down the road of a covered cockpit.
My 2¢ worth.
Cheers

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by 04Stefan07

In my opinion the video should be taken down from all websites.

After seeing it I felt absolutely sick. You think straight away how anyone could survive such a shocking impact.

I highly recommend you don't watch the video.

The latest update is that he is breathing on his own after his second operation.

Live updates can be found here:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formul...pdates-4385882

Why we see worse than this on the daily news and from racing all over the world, especially circuit racing in the USA from places like Indianapolis.
Cheers

[rat156]

Originally Posted by Exfso

This Youtube video gives you an idea of the speed at which he hit the tractor, unbelievable he is even still alive. A complete stuff-up by Charlie Whiting I reckon, waved double yellows when there is a tractor on the circuit, crazy sh!t!!

Originally Posted by Kunama

Notice also that the flag marshall in the tower adjacent is waving the green flag !!!!!!!

As I actually compete in motorsport, not just watch it on the TV, I can assure you that the waving of double yellows means that drivers should EXPECT to see a slow moving vehicle on the track or nearby. It is very common practice to recover vehicles under double yellows.

From the CAMS manual of Motorsport...

Double waved: Reduce your speed significantly, do not overtake and be prepared to change direction or stop. There is a hazard wholly or partly blocking the track and/or officials working on or beside the track.

If, as you suggest that when a recovery vehicle is in operation the race is suspended under a safety car then you'll see more laps under the safety car. It is not what the sport wants. There are adequate controls in place. The enquiry that will be held into the incident will hopefully find out where the controls failed. However, this could be just a freak occurrence. What must be determined is what sent the Marussia out of control, everyone else made it around that corner.

Of course there was a green flag after the incident, this shows drivers where they can resume racing.

Motorsport is dangerous, it's written on the tickets you buy for the GP. Unfortunately things like this can and will happen. Thankfully the safety improvements (many of which have ended up in your daily driver) have meant less fatalities, but it will happen.

Cheers
Stuart

[Exfso (Peter)]

Ok, fair comment Stuart

[Kunama]

The initial incident took place well beyond the flag marshall tower by some 15 metres, therefore the green flag should not be displayed until the next marshall station given that the initial incident had not yet been cleared!

[rat156]

Originally Posted by Kunama

The initial incident took place well beyond the flag marshall tower by some 15 metres, therefore the green flag should not be displayed until the next marshall station given that the initial incident had not yet been cleared!

Again, if you know the rules you'll understand what a green flag means under double waved yellows...

Imagine a line is drawn across the track at that marshal point. That green flag means that, from that line onwards and not a millimetre sooner, the track is clear and cars are able to return to racing speeds. It’s a little like a speed limit sign on public roads; you can’t increase your speed until you are past the sign (unlike the behaviour of almost all drivers on Melbourne roads, who start to speed up from the moment they can read the sign). A car that is only returning to racing speeds at that line will find it virtually impossible to hit Sutil’s Sauber and the recovery crane, which by that time was almost in-line with the flag point.

Kimi Raikkonen pointed out that cars can still aquaplane under safety car conditions, so if that's the case, whenever the race is under SC for wet weather, the race should be stopped?

The FIA should (and probably will) not listen to all the knee-jerk reactions, find out what was happening in Bianchi's car (telemetry, camera footage), get Charlie Whiting and his crew in, get the driver in should he recover enough to be able to do so, sit down and examine the situation to see if anything could have prevented it.

Forza Jules.

Cheers
Stuart

[The_bluester (Paul)]

Regards the double yellow versus green flag. Having watched the footage (One of those times when you really wonder if you should) if you look closely, there is a double waved yellow at that flag point until the first car was recovered back to before that flag point, at which time the marshal started displaying the green flag.

Flags wise it was managed exactly as it was supposed to have been.

At this point I think the concentration should be on Bianchi's recovery. I reckon the FIA will be very trigger happy for a while about putting the safety car out while a recovery is going on. Maybe they would still have had cars go off under a safety car (They did at race start on new tyres) but at least they would be moving at a much lower speed.

[The_bluester (Paul)]

On the subject of closed cockpits for F1 cars, it is hard to say if it would have improved the outcome of this crash or not. If the injury causing moment was the whole crash event as such (In that the car was brought to a stop in X distance) then it would potentially not have helped much to have a closed cockpit. If on the other hand the defining moment was his helmet hitting part of the recovery vehicle then a closed cockpit could potentially make a huge difference, given it was strong enough to withstand or at least substantially dissipate the forces involved.

I don't think that we can speculate either way as to what the real situation was but as another keen motorsport participant I do want to keep tabs on the outcome, firstly that the driver hopefully comes out of it OK and then to see if I pick up any ideas that can improve my own or others safety in the car. I may be travelling a lot slower than these guys but I don't take safety any less seriously as a result.

[Exfso (Peter)]

Apparently the injury was mainly caused by the rapid decelleration of the brain inside the skull and not so much as being hit by the tractor. This is apparently a quite common injury in car accidents where a vehicle stops very rapidly in a short distance. It is a devastating injury too where the outcome is quite poor. Those with better medical qualifications may see it differently, but that is what I am reading at present.