Drivers and leading figures within Formula One have called for urgent action given their serious concern over the potential dangers now inherent in the sport after Oliver Bearman was involved in a huge accident at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The crash, caused by cars coming at one another at enormously different speeds, was described by the British driver as “scary” and by his Haas team principal as a lucky escape. The race was ultimately won for Mercedes by Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old in the process becoming the youngest driver to lead the world championship.
“It was a scary moment out there but everything is OK, which is the main thing,” said Bearman, who escaped the massive crash with only bruising. “The adrenaline is wearing off a bit so it’s going to be a long trip home, but I’m absolutely fine.”
Bearman went off the track at 190mph and his car was sent hurtling into the barriers, where he sustained a 50G impact, after he had to swerve to avoid hitting Franco Colapinto’s car, which was going relatively slowly.
The differential, a closing speed of 50kph, had been caused because Bearman was deploying extra electrical power – the boost mode – just as Colapinto was going much slower as his energy use had been depleted. Many had warned this scenario was likely under the new regulations, with the management of electrical energy now an integral part of racing.
The Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, agreed when asked if Bearman had had a lucky escape. “Yes. It could have been a lot worse,” he said. “I am just glad he did not break anything. We have been talking about closing speeds, and this accident has now happened so we cannot ignore it. Safety should always be top of the list.”
The world champion, Lando Norris, had warned this was a danger for the sport at the first round in Australia and his McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, had highlighted it as a potential danger before the season had even begun during testing.
After the accident at Suzuka, the Williams driver Carlos Sainz was unequivocal that action had to be taken. “We’ve been warning them about this happening,” he said.
“This kind of closing speed and these kind of accidents were always going to happen and I’m not very happy with what we’ve had up until now. Hopefully we come up with a better solution that doesn’t create these massive closing speeds and a safer way of going racing.
“We were lucky there was an escape road. Now imagine going to Baku or Singapore or Vegas and having this kind of closing speed and crashes next to the walls. We’ve warned the FIA [the governing body] these accidents are going to happen a lot with this set of regulations and we need to change something soon if we don’t want them to happen.”
Stella agreed that it lent an urgency to the imperative for action. “This should jump to the top of the agenda,” he said. “We don’t want to wait for things to happen to put actions in place. Today something happened. Oliver, luckily, got out of it with just some bruises but nothing too major. We have a responsibility to put in place the actions that, especially from a safety point of view, should be implemented.”
1 Kimi Antonelli (It) Mercedes
2 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren at 13.722sec
3 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari at 15.270s
4 George Russell (GB) Mercedes GP at 15.754s
5 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren at 23.479s
6 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari at 25.037s
7 Pierre Gasly (Fr) Alpine at 32.340s
8 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull at 32.677s
9 Liam Lawson (NZ) RacingBulls at 50.180s
10 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Haas at 51.216s
11 Nico Hülkenberg (Ger) Audi at 52.280s
12 Isack Hadjar (Fr) Red Bull at 56.154s
13 Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Audi at 59.078s
14 Arvid Lindblad (GB) RacingBulls at 59.848s
15 Carlos Sainz Jr (Sp) Williams at 1m 05.008s
16 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine at 1:05.773
17 Sergio Perez (Mex) Cadillac at 1:32.453
18 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Aston Martin at 1 lap
19 Valtteri Bottas (Finn) Cadillac at 1 lap
20 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams at 2 laps
Not Classified: Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas, Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin
World drivers' championship standings
1 Kimi Antonelli (It) 72pts
2 George Russell (GB) 63
3 Charles Leclerc (Mon) 49
4 Lewis Hamilton (GB) 41
5 Lando Norris (GB) 25
6 Oscar Piastri (Aus) 21
7 Oliver Bearman (GB) 17
8 Pierre Gasly (Fr) 15
9 Max Verstappen (Neth) 12
10 Liam Lawson (NZ) 10
The FIA issued a statement confirming that the regulations are to be reviewed in the period before the next round in Miami in five weeks. “A number of meetings are scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required,” it read.
“The FIA will continue to work in close and constructive collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA’s mission.”
Antonelli claimed his second successive win having dropped from pole to sixth at the start. Oscar Piastri finished second while Charles Leclerc came third.
