Stationary tractor on track in rainy Suzuka conditions sparks discussion as drivers raise concerns

Two laps into the Japanese Grand Prix, a red flag was flown for a handful of first lap incidents that occurred under the difficult, rainy conditions of Suzuka International Racing Course. Carlos Sainz had crashed out on the exit of the hairpin, ending his race.

The drivers made their way back to the pits, with Pierre Gasly at the tail end of the grid. On-board footage showed the French driver passing a stationary tractor on the edge of the track, which was deployed to recover Sainz’s car. Upon his return to the garage, Gasly was visibly irritated by the situation. 

The situation was reminiscent of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, where Jules Bianchi crashed into a tractor standing on track in similarly wet conditions. Bianchi passed away nine months later on account of his injuries. 

Gasly would share his thoughts on Twitter, stating that there should never be recovery vehicles or race marshals out on a live track under such conditions out of respect for Bianchi and the safety of everyone involved. 

“Glad to go home safe tonight. For the respect of Jules, all his family and for our safety and the one of the marshals, there should never be any tractor nor marshals on track in such conditions with such poor visibility. Period.”

Lando Norris took to Twitter as well, calling the situation “unacceptable” given the risks involved. 

“How’s this happened!? We lost a life in this situation years ago. We risk our lives, especially in conditions like this. We wanna race. But this… unacceptable.”

Sergio Perez shared the same sentiment on Twitter, as he said that he doesn’t want to see any recovery vehicles on a live track again in the future.

“How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on track? We lost Jules because of that mistake. What happened today is totally unacceptable!!!!! I hope this is the last time ever I see a crane on track!”

The FIA released a post-race statement that said that they will review the events of the Japanese Grand Prix as related to the deployment of the recovery vehicles to “ensure continual improvements of processes and procedures.”