The FIA, the racing governing body, has opened an immediate investigation into Pierre Gasly’s near collision with a crane at 200 km/h during the Japanese Grand Prix.
Gasly was furious with the FIA after he drove past the recovery car in the opening lap while he tried to catch up with the rest of the crew, who were following a safety car.
The French driver passed the car right after the race was flagged.
Gasly later told the media that he had only 2 meters since being killed at the same circuit where Jules Bianchi had a fatal collision with a crane at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
The incident was widely condemned by other F1 drivers and team bosses, with Christian Horner says the sport has “got lucky” in avoiding another serious accident.
Annex H of the FIA’s International Sports Code states: “No police officer or vehicle may enter the circuit rim without the permission of the race control.”
Sunday’s race director is Eduardo Freitas, one of two to replace Michael Masi at the start of the year.
Hours after the race ended, the FIA confirmed it would look into the matter.
“While it is common practice to recall cars under Safe Vehicle and Red Flag conditions, due to specific circumstances and also taking into account feedback from some drivers, the FIA has conducted a review,” the FIA said. Thorough coverage of events related to the deployment of recovery vehicles in the Japanese Grand Prix.
“This is part of the common practice of interviewing and analyzing all race incidents to ensure continual improvement of processes and procedures.”
Gasly was awarded a 20-second penalty and two penalty points for speeding in red flag conditions after his near miss.
When he later visited the flight attendants, the French driver admitted he was driving too fast.
The judgment stated: “After passing through the scene of the incident, car No. 10 continued to travel in a red flag situation, with a speed exceeding 200 km/h several times, reaching 251 km/h at one point.
“The driver admitted that he now understands that there may be marshals or obstacles on the track, and admits that he was too fast.
“However, to mitigate the penalty, we note that while speed cannot be considered ‘slow’ as specified in the regulation, the maximum speed achievable under these conditions is slow. than.
“We also take into account the shock the driver experienced when he saw a truck on the track at the corner of the incident.”
Gasly also spoke to Freitas during the red flag period, although he did not disclose to the media details of their conversation.
