Formula One's decision to postpone qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix until Sunday morning was entirely expected and, indeed, understandable. Taking risks with driver safety given the expected arrival of Typhoon Hagibis seemed unthinkable.
Suzuka was where the accident that ultimately led to the death of Jules Bianchi occurred five years ago. The sense of loss and sadness has not diminished in time. Since he died F1 has made greater strides towards safety, but recent events have served as salutary reminders that the sport remains dangerous enough without taking chances with the weather.
In 2014 Bianchi crashed under the safety car at dusk in heavy rain that was the precursor to the arrival of Typhoon Phanfone. He had come off at the Dunlop curve and struck a recovery vehicle tending to another car. The Frenchman was hospitalised but died from his injuries nine months later.
Bianchi was the first on-track driver fatality in F1 since Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed at Imola in 1994. None of his contemporaries had experienced the death of a fellow driver in F1 before.
The impact remains acute. "I can't believe it has been that long, it feels so recent, so fresh," said Lewis Hamilton in Japan. "I remember that day, the poor weather we had, sitting in the pit lane wondering what happened, and of course what followed. It still feels fresh, it is such a sad thought. I like to think his spirit stays alive within the sport, within the drivers today."
Poignant memories
Bianchi was friend and godfather to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Last year in his first race at Suzuka, he left a tribute to him at Dunlop and poignant memories remain.
“It was a difficult weekend for me last year, being in Suzuka for the first time since Jules’s accident,” he said. “Obviously it is a very sad memory that I will always associate with this grand prix.”
The circumstances of Bianchi’s accident have been examined thoroughly. The race did not start until 3pm, despite darkness falling quickly at 5.30pm. The heavy rain of Phanfone was expected, and discussion had been given to an early start which was rejected. When the strength of the rain caused the race to be stopped and further time was lost, conditions were not only treacherous but visibility poor.
With Hagibis threatening much worse F1, the FIA and Suzuka were rightly taking no chances. The track has been closed and teams have packed equipment away in anticipation of high winds and potential flooding.
Since Bianchi’s accident F1 has pursued even greater driver safety. Much of it has gone unnoticed, such as the chassis around the cockpit increasing in strength by 300 per cent since 2014. More publicly the introduction of the halo device has, despite objections, repeatedly proved its worth. Not least when Fernando Alonso’s airborne car struck the halo of Leclerc last year at Spa.
In August, however, the death of Anthoine Hubert in an F2 race at the Belgian Grand Prix was a horrific reminder that danger cannot be regulated out of the sport. Juan Manuel Correa who struck Hubert's car in the accident has had extensive surgery after suffering spinal injuries and broken legs from which he may not fully recover.
At the following round of the F3 championship in Monza, Alex Peroni was launched into a huge airborne crash from which he was fortunate to walk away.
Right decision
The drivers already know these risks, but everyone involved sees no sense in increasing them unnecessarily.
"It's a shame for the fans but it's a fully respectable decision – safety is first," said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto in Suzuka.
A view echoed by Haas's Guenther Steiner. "I think it was the right decision from the organisers; safety is first."
Qualifying is now set to take place on Sunday at 2am UK time, four hours before the race. However, if the weather remains too severe to run qualifying, the grid will be dictated by the times set in second practice on Friday.
Mercedes can win the constructors’ title if they outscore Ferrari by 14 points and had brought small upgrades to Japan. They have not been defeated here since 2014 and looked in good form.
Valtteri Bottas was quickest in the first session, and when the teams attempted quick times in P2 was once again on top. In the order that may yet represent the front of the grid, he was one-tenth clear of Hamilton, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen two-tenths back in third.
The Ferraris of Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were in fourth and fifth over three-tenths behind.
– Guardian
