Picture Credit: Twitter
The chaotic Japanese Grand Prix was host to a terrifying moment involving French F1 star Pierre Gasly at the start of the race. The Alphatauri driver’s car picked up a massive chunk of debris, and then almost collides with a recovery tractor while entering the pit at the end of lap 1.
As soon as he saw the vehicle in his racing line, Gasly was livid as he shouted why the tractor was there. He was then summoned by the FIA for speeding under a red flag and was not behind a Safety Car when this happened.
Later Gasly explained how terrified he was and how he could have died if he lost control of his car like Sainz. He said, “If I lost the car in the same way that Carlos lost his car on the lap before? I was doing 200kph, but even at 100kph, it’s a 12 ton crane. If I hit it, I would be dead right now. I am extremely grateful that I am still standing. Still able to call my family, my loved ones, and nothing happened. For all us drivers - I hope this is the last time we see a crane".
The Frenchman further reminded everyone about the Jules Bianchi accident from 2014 which took the life of a promising driver at the same venue. He said, “There was a crane on the racing line. It was two metres away from my front left tyre. I was extremely scared. We all suffered from Jules’ accident. If we could go back and change the situation on that day, he would still be here. For the future, what I want is for all my colleagues to be safe, in F1 and younger categories. Hopefully, we can finally learn from this situation.”
