2014 Japanse GP

Doesn't look good at all. Saying his F1 career is over is a tragedy enough, but I'd be over the moon seeing him recover some sense of self at this point :(
 
http://formerf1doc.wordpress.com/ explains what it is, and also writes about the deteriorating flag discipline.

For the JCB's, some sort of impact protection should be easy to rig. It'll still be a sudden stop but at least cars shouldn't slide under it.
 
For the JCB's, some sort of impact protection should be easy to rig. It'll still be a sudden stop but at least cars shouldn't slide under it.

While a lot of people are blasting the decision to have the JCB on the track, I'm also wondering if having it there didn't save the lives of the marshalls and Adrian Sutil? I mean...if Jules had crashed at that speed into them.....would be be worried about 5 or 6 people instead of 1?

Not that it makes it right, just...wondering. Maybe they need to find a better way to get disabled cars off the track, or get the driver out and worry about the cars later, if they're not broken down on the track itself.

I dunno.....
 
Yeah that's what I said, I'd just leave the car alone unless safety can be guaranteed. The cars are geared towards being safe when they hit each other, more and more with every revision (latest being the pointy noses), and sending a crew into a hazardous place such as a racing track with cars going at racing speeds, it's just inviting disaster.
 
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While a lot of people are blasting the decision to have the JCB on the track, I'm also wondering if having it there didn't save the lives of the marshalls and Adrian Sutil? I mean...if Jules had crashed at that speed into them.....would be be worried about 5 or 6 people instead of 1?

if the JCB hadn't been there, neither would've been the marshals...
 
if the JCB hadn't been there, neither would've been the marshals...


For the most part, yes. But in Monaco where the cranes are off the track, the track dudes STILL have to go on-track to retrieve the cars...

Granted this is a very rare occurrence but I still think that if the cars aren't directly in the line of fire, so to speak...leave them until conditions improve?

Not sure there's even really a good answer for each circumstance.
 
Isn't that pretty much the same injury Schumacher suffered?

No, Schuey's injury was subdural bleeding as far as I'm aware, with visible lesions on the brain; Bianchi's injury is all deceleration-related and at microscopic level.

Apparently there was a case with some similarities about 25 years ago in CART: Roberto Guerrero crashed very heavily at Indy in '87 during testing in the autumn, was diagnosed with a rather severe DAI and spent 17 days in a coma. Finished 2nd on his return to the cockpit about 7 months later and set the 1- and 4-lap records at Indy in qualifying for the '92 race.

Hoping Jules' case evolves in a similar way, but also bracing for the worst if it comes.
 
autosport.com article covering what the FIA had to say about the accident, about the circumstances under which it happened and (predictably) that nothing whatsoever was done wrong by anyone in an official capacity.
 
they're right!

Regarding the actual accident, I agree. Bianchi was too fast for the conditions, the rest was very, very bad luck.

My comment was targeted at the tone of the press statement, which reeked of ass-covering.
 
They go to the finest details for the most unlikely scenarios (a nose extension pointing downwards in case of a T-bone accident) and then we have heavy machinery which has the perfect height to accommodate a car sliding underneath.
Sure nothing was done out of the normal standard procedure, but nobody can deny there is a severe overlook of this aspect of safety.
 
there is a severe overlook of this aspect of safety.

that's a big difference to blaming someone for making a mistake and be responsible for the accident/situation Bianchi is in now
 
I'm not blaming anyone. I'm saying "everything was done correctly and there's nothing we need to change" is wrong.
 
There is new (inofficial) information regarding Bianchi's accident. German automotive mag Auto Motor und Sport reports that the g sensor measured a peak of 92g for the crash. These sensors are mandatory and are integrated into each driver's earplugs. Thus, this is the actual g that the head suffers. According to Bianchi's father, the doctors are surprised that Bianchi survived this amount of force at all.

Additionally, the German mag AutoBild claims to have information on the details of the crash. They say that his team, Marussia, asked Bianchi not to slow down despite the double yellow flags to make sure that he won't lose a position to Ericsson. The latter was on fresh rain tires and approximately 1s faster on the previous lap than Bianchi on his 15 lap old intermediates. This statement seems to also have been recorded.

The rule for double yellows is that each driver must drive so slowly that he is able to do a full stop at any time if necessary. Given the speed that Bianchi crashed with, he must have been going much faster, so this does unfortunately make good sense.
 
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If there's a recording of Marussia telling him to not slow for the yellow flag, I'd say the consequences for that team could be extremely serious. Like, fined out of business or entry withdrawn serious, never mind potential legal action from non-FIA/FOM entities (I know this isn't America or anything but it opens possibilities up a bit).

However for that reason, I'll doubt they said it, until we hear the evidence.
 
Highly doubt the evidence, if any, will be made public. Just goes to show how accidents of this sort are a series of small errors all put together.
 
Highly doubt the evidence, if any, will be made public. Just goes to show how accidents of this sort are a series of small errors all put together.
Well, if that'd be true, we'd be far from "small error" and into the "not bending, but breaking rules in a life-threatening way" territory.
 
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