Martin Brundle slams F1 after Pierre Gasly nearly collided with a recovery tractor on track in Japan

Martin Brundle has described the moment that Pierre Gasly nearly collided with a tow tractor on the track during last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix as ‘undeniably unacceptable’ – claiming that lessons have still not been learned from Jules Bianchi’s death in 2014.

In torrential rain with very limited visibility, the red flag was waved after Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon crashed, forcing the drivers back to the pit lane.

But when Gasly, who was at the back of the grid, did so, he came perilously close to a serious accident when he narrowly missed a tractor that had come onto the track to pick up the stricken Ferrari from Sainz.

Martin Brundle (right) has slammed Formula 1 for Pierre Gasly (left) near miss with a tow tractor on track during last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix

Live speed data showed Gasly was traveling at 250km/h as he approached the tractor at a time when he lashed out at race stewards as ‘unacceptable’ and claimed he ‘could have taken his own life’

The AlphaTauri driver was traveling at a speed of 250 km/h when he narrowly dodged the recovery truck, leaving Gasly both terrified and furious, especially given the similarities to the 2014 crash in Japan that would cost Bianchi his life.

Gasly believes he was “two meters away from death” after being left “extremely scared” and fearing for his life following the incident.

He was later penalized by the FIA ​​for speeding in the conditions – a penalty accepted by the AlphaTauri driver.

The incident brought back memories of Jules Bianchi’s fatal crash involving a recovery vehicle, which happened at the same track in 2014.

But Brundle insists Gasly should never have been put in that position when the race should have been red flagged right away.

‘It is unquestionably unacceptable’ Brundle told Sky’s Every Monday driven. “I think that should have been a red flag right away because of the circumstances, because everyone was on intermediates.

“You can’t see where you’re going in the cars, you’re still going pretty fast at Safety Car speeds and I’m assuming Alex Albon’s stricken Williams was somewhere close as well.

“I’ve seen other images, the truck was right out front, marshals on track, lessons not learned.

Bianchi’s dad lashes out at race check for showing ‘no respect’ for Gasly or his son’s ‘memory’

“We know there was debris nearby, some of it on the front of Gasly’s car. That should be a red flag. We had a car in a really critical position, high speeds in those conditions, there was no alternative.

“It’s not even a matter of collecting cars to save time, because the location of the car definitely meant that people and vehicles had to get out on the track. It was an instant red flag.’

Brundle also experienced his own trauma on the same track as a Formula 1 driver in 1994 when he hit a marshal after coming close to a collision with an excavator.

“I was shocked because I had an incident there in Suzuka in 1994, when I cried on the radio for a red flag before the race because the conditions were appalling,” Brundle added.

Gasly was penalized 20 seconds after the race and received two penalty points on his super license for reaching speeds of 250 km/h

“I was aquaplaning in a place where I couldn’t see it, not even on my dash, I took off and just missed one of the track diggers, but unfortunately hit a Marshal and ran back to help him. The bone of his leg was sticking out of his overalls and it was a terrible mess.

“After that experience, I remember saying in ’98” [on commentary]”we can’t have vehicles on the track when race cars are on the track”. You can fly away, you can have a car problem, whatever.

“It should never happen. Of course in 2014 we had the terrible incident again when we effectively lost Jules Bianchi.

“You just can’t have it.”