Jules Bianchi's death after his horrific crash nine months ago is a grim reminder of the risky nature of the sport, says India's first Formula 1 driver
Narain Karthikeyan
New Delhi: The premature death of Jules Bianchi is a harsh reminder that Formula 1 is never safe despite the drastic improvements made in safety standards over the last two decades, feels former Grand Prix driver Narain Karthikeyan.
Also read: F1 driver Jules Bianchi dies after 9 months in coma, motorsport world mourns
Narain Karthikeyan
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Bianchi, 25, is the first Formula 1 driver to have been killed since the legendary Ayrton Senna was killed at the Imola circuit in 1994.
"I got this terrible news a little while ago and it shows again that it can never be bullet-proof in a racing car, even though safety standards have improved by leaps and bounds in the last two decades. Unfortunately, it didn't look good from day one in Jules' case," Karthikeyan, who is India's first F1 driver, said on Saturday from Fuji, Japan, where he is competing in the Super Formula Championship.
The Frenchman suffered fatal head injuries during the Japanese GP at Suzuka nine months ago, as he slid off the track and crashed into a crane picking up Adrian Sutil's car. Karthikeyan had made a F1 return in 2011 when Bianchi was pushing for a breakthrough.
Marussia's Jules Bianchi in action just minutes before his crash at the Japanese GP at the Suzuka Circuit on October 5, 2014. Pic/Getty Images
"He was a talented guy. He showed speed and promise in F3, GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5. He had the right people behind him. He could have achieved a lot. In F1, we did not speak much. Whatever little we interacted was in the paddock or in the drivers' parade," he recalled.
Karthikeyan got the sad news minutes before qualifying at Fuji. Does a tragedy like this affect a racer's mind? "Not really. We all have to be mentally very strong. As I said, you cannot be safe when you are doing speeds in excess of 300 kmph. You have just got to respect the reality of the sport," he added.
Karun Chandhok, the other Indian to have reached F1, also tracked Bianchi's career. He too, like Karthikeyan, feels the sport has became a lot safer since the 'black weekend' at Imola and called Bianchi's accident as a 'freak one'.
"His accident was a really unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the end of the day, a few feet either side would have saved his life but sometimes the sport throws a cruel blow," he said. Was Bianchi just a victim of sheer bad luck and is F1 otherwise a lot safer than other forms of motorsport? "Yes absolutely," said Chandhok.
How did the crash happen?
> Jules Bianchi's accident occurred on Lap 43 of the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. With the Suzuka circuit wet due to heavy rains, the 25-year-old Marussia driver's car slid off the track and rammed into a recovery crane which was picking up Adrian Sutil's car after the Sauber driver had crashed at the same spot a lap earlier.
Marussia's Jules Bianchi receives medical treatment after crashing during the Japanese GP at the Suzuka Circuit on October 5, 2014. Pic/Getty Images
> An FIA panel investigating the crash said that Bianchi veered off track into the run-off area, he "applied both throttle and brake together, using both feet" and thus over-riding the failsafe mechanism. The panel's report also claimed that Bianchi's front wheels had locked and that the 25-year-old "did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control."
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