‘The lowest point in years ’ - Angry Perez on F1 tractor incident
The FIA has launched an investigation into the appearance of a recovery vehicle during the early stages of Sunday’s Grand Prix after Pierre Gasly had a near-miss.
Gasly was left furious with the FIA after he narrowly avoided a 200 km/h collision with a crane and marshals following Carlos Sainz’s first-lap crash in wet conditions.
AlphaTauri’s Gasly, who admitted the moment had left him fearing for his life, was penalised for speeding under red-flag conditions as he tried to catch up to the back of the pack behind the Safety Car.
The incident took place eight years after Jules Bianchi suffered fatal head injuries when he crashed into a recovery vehicle in similar conditions at Suzuka, prompting emotional and angry reactions from several drivers.
"That's the lowest point we've seen in the sport for years," Perez told Sky.
"What happened today just makes me so angry. I just hope in the sport we never get to see this situation ever again because you are just putting all the drivers at risk.
“We saw what happened here a few years ago with our friend Jules and absolutely I don't care about what was the reason for that. It should never happen again, ever in any category.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who initially hit out at the FIA on Twitter, insisted that driver safety must always remain paramount.
"I think it's quite clear that it can't ever happen in Formula 1 ever again,” said Norris. “Especially when at this circuit, however many years ago, we lost a life.
"It's a bit crazy. I really don't understand how it's happened. I don't know who okayed it and who allowed it to happen. We risk enough by trying to go out there and put on a show.
"You couldn't see anything, I literally mean nothing, and we're taking enough risks in those conditions, so when you have something like this it's just mind-blowing to me how someone can choose to do that, and they don't know the consequences obviously that it can have on us.
"I don't think many conversations need to be had, especially from us drivers. I think we've made it clear it should be pretty simple on how to fix it, and that's for it to never happen again."
