The tractor drove onto the Formula 1 track and scared the pilots. Nightmare at the Japanese Grand Prix

Formula 1 fans know about the tragic fate of the Japanese circuit, where Jules Bianchi had a terrible accident in 2014. The Frenchman drove into a tow truck, and then unsuccessfully fought for his life for 9 months.

After that tragedy, everyone was sure that such incidents would never happen again. However, last weekend showed that history teaches nothing. The tractor that drove onto the track shocked the fans, racers and all the teams.

“This is unacceptable”

The 18th stage of the “royal races” did not promise much intrigue. Verstappen had a solid lead in the drivers’ rankings, and his Red Bull similarly outperformed every team in the Constructors’ Championship. However, the traditionally unpredictable Japanese weather has made important adjustments to what is happening.

Sunday’s race began in heavy rain, which led to an incident on the first lap: Carlos Sainz’s car hydroplaned, resulting in the need to call a tractor. At the time of his work at the turn where the Spaniard flew out, Pierre Gasly’s on-board video showed a terrible picture: the Frenchman’s car passes the section at high speed, and a huge tractor moves in the immediate vicinity:

– Wow! What the hell is a tractor doing on a track?! This is unacceptable,” Gasly immediately shouted into the radio.

Photo: © Peter Fox / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Although, having cooled down, it became obvious to everyone that the tractor was still not as close as it seemed to the pilot. However, the dangerous situation has become a key theme for the participants in the race. Everyone said that the incident could have ended very badly.

The pilots remembered the accident that led to the death of Jules Bianchi here in 2014. In the same rainy weather, the Frenchman lost control of his Marusya Motors car, the car slipped and crashed into a tractor that was moving another car. Bianchi, who suffered serious head injuries, died almost a year later without regaining consciousness.

“I was two meters from death,” Gasley told Formula 1 journalist Adam Cooper in an interview after the stage was over.

Verstappen is confused

The race was stopped after three laps, and waiting for the restart took more than two hours. Gasly ended up finishing last, with Verstappen taking the lead from the start.

However, even here there was a scandal associated with confusion in the calculation of total points. Leclerc and Perez were so hacked in the last laps that the Mexican, attempting to attack, forced Charles to leave the track. The Ferrari driver returned to the asphalt illegally and was therefore fined five seconds. This resulted in the Monegasque losing second place to Sergio Perez. And as it turned out, this gave Max Verstappen the edge he needed to win a second title. Although it wasn’t obvious:

Am I the world champion or not? I? I constantly receive different messages, – the Dutchman was perplexed before entering the podium.

Photo: © Clive Mason / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

There was confusion even at Red Bull. Team manager Christian Horner could not say for sure whether their pilot would get the title today or not. The thing is that the experts felt that during the rain-interrupted stage in Japan, not enough laps were completed to give full points.

“This is the most absurd thing I have ever seen,” commentator Viasat exclaimed live.

However, former world champion Jenson Button stepped on the podium and congratulated Verstappen on his second championship in a row. It was pointless to argue.

By and large, the issue of the Dutchman’s triumph this season was no longer an issue. He had a big enough advantage with four stages before the end of the season, so that discussions around the fairness of the decision of the International Automobile Federation will not last long.

What can not be said about the incident with the tractor. A terrible picture for a long time will stand before the eyes of Pierre Gasly.