07/10/2014
NEWS STORY
Officials at Suzuka claim the accident that has left Jules Bianchi fighting for his life was due to bad luck rather than poor decisions.
As the French youngster fights for his life and the FIA calls for an investigation, Suzuka Circuit spokesman Masamichi Miyazaki insists that effectively, the Marussia driver was the victim of a freak set of circumstances.
"Officials raised 'double yellow flags' after the accident by Sutil, which means drivers had to slow down to the speed that they can immediately stop, but unfortunately Bianchi's car aquaplaned right at the time and ran into the accident site, which was bad luck," said Miyazaki, according to Reuters.
"Admittedly, rain was coming and the road was wet, but not heavy enough to halt the race, and I believe the race officials made the same judgement."
Meanwhile, newly appointed president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), Alex Wurz, has warned the sport against a knee-jerk reaction to the incident.
"Obviously, such a terrible accident throws up a lot of questions and opinions," said the Austrian, according to ESPN. "By nature, we all like to have answers, conclusions and solutions as soon as possible. All of us drivers understand and also feel the need to investigate and discuss this matter. But we shall not jump to conclusions without having all evidence and information, and also having the chance to hear other parties' point of view."
The former Benetton, McLaren and Williams driver, two-time Le Mans winner now enjoying success in LMP1 with Toyota, also warned colleagues to be guarded in their comments in the coming days.
"We would rather not debate this accident until we have all information collected," he said. "Most certainly, I recommend to all the drivers to refrain from a public discussion. Any such discussions and the pursuit of solutions shall be done in a closed circle to ensure respect and privacy for Jules's family, but equally to ensure this analytical process can be done in its best way.
"We need to give the experts time to analyse everything and, of course, we offer our full support to whichever authorities may be involved in this process. But foremost, we want to support the family and friends of Jules. We do this in the best way, not by inflaming knee-jerk conclusions. Our thoughts are with Jules and his family."