F1 Madness

Tag: crash

  • F1 2014: FIA Institutes Accident Panel

    F1 2014: FIA Institutes Accident Panel

    A few weeks after the crash that severely injured Marussia driver Jules Bianchi the FIA has instituted an accident panel.

    The panel will be tasked with investigating Bianchi’s crash at the Japanese grand prix. Their investigation is expected to culminate in the proposal of potential changes at the next World Motor Sport Council meeting slated for December. The FIA has called on several experienced former members of the of the Formula 1 paddock to form part of the panel. Former Mercedes boss Ross Brawn, former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicalli and Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi are among those included.

    The full panel line-up is as follows:

    Presidency

    Peter Wright, President of the Safety Commission

    Members

    Ross Brawn, former Team Principal of Mercedes, Brawn Grand Prix and former Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari

    Stefano Domenicali, former Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari

    Gerd Ennser, Chief Stewards’ representative

    Emerson Fittipaldi, President of the FIA Drivers’ Commission, F1 Steward

    Eduardo de Freitas, World Endurance Championship Race Director

    Roger Peart, President of the Circuits Commission, President of the ASN of Canada, F1 Steward

    Antonio Rigozzi, Advocate, Judge at the International Court of Appeal of the FIA co-opted by the teams

    Gérard Saillant, President of the FIA Institute and President of the Medical Commission

    Alex Wurz, President of the GPDA, drivers’ representative

  • F1 2014: Details of Bianchi Crash Revealed

    F1 2014: Details of Bianchi Crash Revealed

    The FIA has revealed more details about Jules Bianchi’s crash during the Japanese grand prix.

    Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting went through CCTV footage taken a handful of minutes before the Marussia driver’s crash.

    “There is a dryish line. As the rain has intensified, a little bit of water creeps on to the drier line, and as cars go a little bit wide there, you see that Adrian got onto that and lost control,” Whiting explained.

    “He touches that slightly wetter bit of track, and he is behind Jules at this point. When he hits that slightly wetter bit of track, he loses control and spins. A lap later, with double waved yellow flags being displayed, Bianchi hits the same bit of water.”

    Whiting noted that Bianchi had tried to correct the slide and in so doing over-corrected his car and hurtled off the circuit.

    “You can see Jules doing something similar [to Sutil]. He hits the same bit of water, but there is a slight difference – he does not spin like Adrian did. He corrects and goes off at a slightly different trajectory.”

    Whiting further confirmed that mechanical failure was ruled out a possible cause for the crash and stipulated that it was not yet possible to determine the speed on impact.

  • F1 2014: German GP Qualifying – Rosberg Secures Home Pole

    F1 2014: German GP Qualifying – Rosberg Secures Home Pole

    Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has secured pole position for the German GP.

    The major talking point of the qualifying session was the crash of Lewis Hamilton during the first session of qualifying. A brake disc failure pitched the Brit’s Mercedes into the wall and out of qualifying. Hamilton appeared to be uninjured after the incident but was taken the medical centre for checks. Hamiton’s crash momentarily brought out the red flag as marshals tended to recovering the damaged Mercedes.

    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen missed the cut in the second part of qualifying and will start the race in 12th position. Sergio Perez starred for the Force India team as he secured a spot in the top-ten shootout with seconds remaining on the clock. Jenson Button also failed to advance to the final part of the qualifying session.

    Nico Rosberg appeared to be in firm control but still had to ward off the Williams of Valterri Bottas. The German was able to secure pole position with a relatively comfortable margin but not improve in his second run in Q3. The Finn will start tomorrow’s race on the front row of the grid after missing out on pole position by only two tenths of a second. Brazilian Felipe Massa will start 3rd and shares the second row with McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen.

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  • Video: Kimi Raikkonen crashes into wall during FP1

    Video: Kimi Raikkonen crashes into wall during FP1

    Ouch! Kimi Raikkonen’s crash during the first free practice session in Korea. When asked by the team, “What happened?”, Kimi replied, “I hit the wall”. At least he cleared that up for anyone who was wondering.