Japanese Gp

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

It was all a bit confusing, as it happened during the ad break. The medical car overtook the safety car and was going like crazy, so they knew something was up. Why the safety car was not deployed earlier, I do not know, but full course yellows should be enough.

[Insider 0]

They need a crane at Dunlop. That JCB nearly killed Brundle years ago. I pray for Jules.

[pabloh20 1]

I hope Bianchi will be ok and they start surgery quick enough to alleviate any potential problems.

[pabloh20 1]

It does not sound good, no radio response, red flag, off to hospital unconscious.

I agree, some of the people celebrating a win for Hamilton should be ashamed of themselves.

I only watched the BBC coverage which was not live. Who was celebrating Hamilton winning?

What I watched, everyone was pretty sombre and that was whilst it was still uncertain the full extent of what had happened to Bianchi.

[KoolMonkey 0]

This is what I think about the entire driver circus as of now. Alonso may go to McLaren but Red Bull is a pointless destination. What's in it for them? I think McLaren's dithering is being caused by internal strife and it could be that Dennis and Boullier are for the chop. A new man like Berger will have his own ideas. It could be that Honda want Jenson to bed the car in and then move to an advisory role or even TP. People change and his 'racing in Japan' remark may point to that. It's possible he could be tied in to Haas. There are rumours that they may have put their money on the wrong pony in Ferrari and are switching to a customer Honda engine for 2016. Jenson would be key in fixing that up. All the focus is on Alonso but he could end up without a drive when the dust settles if he isn't very careful.

If Ron is removed and replaced by Berger, a character who has achieved nothing in F1 outside of the c#ckpit, I will be completely amazed. Ron's not going anywhere. If the board gave Whitmarsh several years to get it right, they are not going to drop one of the last true team manager legends left in the sport in just a year. He's proven himself unlike Berger.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

One of those "oh crap moments" when I heard about Bianchi.

Very unlucky accident. Praying he recovers. Does not sound great at the moment. Head operation for serious head injury, unconscious and in critical condition

[Insider 0]

Jules is having a second operation now to stem internal bleeding according to Radio Monte Carlo - not good. The bulletins from the FIA are useless, hours old and completely out of date. A disgrace really. Hang in there, guy.

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

Probably having everything go through the lawyers.

I agree they are not helpful at all.

[Emmcee 0]

Same as when we were (and still are) hanging in for Schumi. I can't help but to feel its partially the fia's fault, to allow them to keep racing in conditions that were worse than the start of the race which then they thought was bad, wouldn't you stop the race concidering it was getting darker and viability was poor. Race should be started earlier. Apparently the organisers of the Suzuka circuit have wanted an earlier start for years but its the pressure from tv companies fighting for tv rights who pressure them into maintaing the later start time. So all in all, if he pulls through which I so help to god he does, someone is now affected by corporate greed, the other thing to, is they took there sweet a$$ time

Clearing sutils car on a corner known for people coming of, even vettel had a trip through there earlier, why didnt they just leave the car there? couldnt of been worse to hit than sliding under a truck. Now I don't want to sound like an a-hole as its so soon, but do you think Alexander Rossi might finally get his crack?

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

There are a lot of questions, aren't there? The start time, given that a Cyclone was approaching, was surely questionable. What was the recovery vehicle doing on track without a safety car being scrambled? There are others, but it is time for me to shut up.

[KoolMonkey 0]

An utter shambles is all I can say about how the GP was handled. But we've had to endure this BS for years now, like Malaysia few years back, even the AUS GP still going as the light faded fast.

They are too rigid and don't allow any flexibility. But knowing a typhoon was coming, and the fact it as raining steadily, and starting the race under a safety car is all showing how badly this sport is being managed in all areas. I mean are they trying to make us hate the sport even more?

I hope Jules pulls through. And I especially hope if he does, he's not left brain impaired or affected in that way.

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

Trying not to think about that last bit.

I mentioned we are not going to the AGP next year, after 7 years in corporate boxes. I cited noise as being one factor but the late start, to allow Europeans to watch it without getting up early, was another. The weather often turns bad in Melbourne in the late afternoon, even in March and I have a few years of horizontal rain to endure.

In this case, it was surely obvious that a start at that time with a cyclone knocking at the door would lead to problems.

[Emmcee 0]

It's the inconsistancy that peeves me of, all for more money, prooves a life to them when money is involved, means nothing.

[KoolMonkey 0]

I get enraged when the commentators like Brundle start talking about a 2hr time limit during a 4hr maximum window, and then point out that we only have 1hr 45mins of light left. It's astonishing. They themselves know the stupidity of the situation, but can only comment on it being like us powerless to do anything about it.

This isn't like it was a typhoon descending on Bahrain and thus utterly unexpected. We've had storms and heavy rain at Suzuka before. The fact is the FIA just don't learn from these situations.

I hate that the AUS GP is a twilight race. Make it day, or make it night, but for goodness sake don't ever let us be in a situation where we're chasing the light. I can't remember what year it was, but it was recent where the race was still going and it was getting really really dark. Dangerous right? No street lights or anything.

Places like Malaysia and Suzuka and so on, need to start earlier to account for the bad weather and light. Or they need to have some proper contingencies in places to avoid this type of situation again.

Screw the FIA and their insistence that the race start times only benefit Europe. I get up 4am to watch the UCL (go Barca!) and don't complain about it.

I had honestly hoped we'd get the whole race under a safety car. Then once again we'd be the utter laughing stock of the sports world and maybe then, some rules changes and common sense could be introduced.

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

You are dead right about race timing. Here in the tropics (sort of if we are talking Melbourne), storms come in late afternoon after a sweltering day. We all know that but TV rules the world.

[Insider 0]

Satellite time WAS flexible. An 11.00 am start WAS feasible. Honda [organisers] were concerned the stadium would not be full and people would miss out but it was at capacity by 9 am. The FIA is concerned with safety and pushed hard for a time change. Honda would not budge. The teams and drivers were NOT consulted at any time and FOM is to blame for that. Bernie just wanted his cheque. They won't let him back on the board at CVC now and so the clock is ticking - thank God for that. Massa was right: they started too early and finished too late. Jules is in ICU and fighting for his life. He shouldn't be.

[Emmcee 0]

I get enraged when the commentators like Brundle start talking about a 2hr time limit during a 4hr maximum window, and then point out that we only have 1hr 45mins of light left. It's astonishing. They themselves know the stupidity of the situation, but can only comment on it being like us powerless to do anything about it.

This isn't like it was a typhoon descending on Bahrain and thus utterly unexpected. We've had storms and heavy rain at Suzuka before. The fact is the FIA just don't learn from these situations.

I hate that the AUS GP is a twilight race. Make it day, or make it night, but for goodness sake don't ever let us be in a situation where we're chasing the light. I can't remember what year it was, but it was recent where the race was still going and it was getting really really dark. Dangerous right? No street lights or anything.

Places like Malaysia and Suzuka and so on, need to start earlier to account for the bad weather and light. Or they need to have some proper contingencies in places to avoid this type of situation again.

Screw the FIA and their insistence that the race start times only benefit Europe. I get up 4am to watch the UCL (go Barca!) and don't complain about it.

I had honestly hoped we'd get the whole race under a safety car. Then once again we'd be the utter laughing stock of the sports world and maybe then, some rules changes and common sense could be introduced.

Totally, but apparently the race organisers at Suzuka have asked for a earlier start for years but its pressure from tv stations fighting for prime time tv. Money will always win out of anything.

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

You never know what to believe, but this does not sound at all good.

http://www.f1today.net/en/news/bianchi-relying-on-a-respirator-to-be-able-to-breathe

[Emmcee 0]

Sounds like the same thing Schumi went and is still going through, very very sad indeed.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Strange because I've seen headlines saying he was breathing on his own

But any situation where they have to operate multiple times on the brain area is never a good sign at all.

I see all the drivers or headlines attributing drivers to say they wanted the race stopped. But then again when you have Massa saying things when it comes to the rain, you have to really take it with a barrell of salt. It didn't look that bad. Some drivers said it was ok as well. We've certainly seen worse wet conditions.

Maybe they need to invent mobile cranes that have thick padding around the outsides of them or something. Or come up with another system.

Rain caused Bianchi to aquaplane, but it was a case of wrong place, wrong time that he slammed straight into the mobile crane. This type of accident could have even have happened in the dry.

[BrisbaneAndy 0]

You are right, WebRic, it sounds very similar.

A barrel of salt, KoolMoneky, is that worse than a pinch of salt? Jesting....

Massa being very vocal about something again, I did not pay much attention to that.

[KoolMonkey 0]

I don't think anyone pays attention to Massa anymore, especially when it concerns wet/rain affected races. He's got to be at the top of the shortlist for possibly the worst driver in wet/rainy conditions surely?

[Emmcee 0]

I used to be quite a big Massa fan, but his recent runs of "I didnt do it" has put me off him bigtime. In his world, he hasn't made a mistake on track since Hungary 2009.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Meanwhile, Rosberg aced Hamilton in Q3.

Indeed, I wasn't expecting that. Great pole and a reminder to people like me that Lewis isn't always fastest.

Do you guys think they have gone abit soft towards wet weather? I mean there have been a few races over the last few years that have started behind the safety car. I can't remember the last time I've seen them race in real rain. 10-15 years ago they would race it hard.

I think Belgium 1998 changed everything in that regard.

I only watched the BBC coverage which was not live.

Yes it was! Back on point though I didnt see anyone celebrating either.

I used to be quite a big Massa fan, but his recent runs of "I didnt do it" has put me off him bigtime. In his world, he hasn't made a mistake on track since Hungary 2009.

I'm not sure how Hungary '09 could be seen as a Massa mistake.

We take for granted the safety in F1; we've all seen huge crashes and the driver then get out and walk away, but this is a reminder that the danger still very much remains. Such a young guy and a future Ferrari driver, I keep checking the news just hoping that there isn't the headline I fear the most.

Re the race itself, what a drive from Jenson. He badly needed that, with Ron watching on. Kevin having a 'mare helped too. Brilliant overtake from Lewis. Great racing yet again from Ricciardo.

[pabloh20 1]

Yes it was! Back on point though I didnt see anyone celebrating either.

Not when I watched it, it wasn't!

The coverage was on at 1ish. I was going to watch the sky replay, but they didn't show it. Did the bbc show it earlier on then replayed it at lunch time?