Oliver Bearman emerging unhurt from a huge accident at the Japanese Grand Prix was considered a lucky escape. Formula One must think it is catching a break given there is a full month to work out how best to reduce the chance of such an incident happening again. F1 is going to need every minute of that time given the complexity of the problem.
Bearman’s Haas car was travelling at 307kph (191mph) when he was forced to veer off‑track as he came up behind the relatively slow moving Alpine of Franco Colapinto. The closing speed between the two cars was 50kph, a frightening pace. The scenario was one many had been warning about before the season had even begun. With the deployment of electrical energy, and its subsequent recovery now an integral part of F1, Bearman was using his boost mode while Colapinto was recovering energy, hence the big difference in speed.
