



The Marussia driver Jules Bianchi underwent surgery after suffering a severe head injury in an accident at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. In heavy rain the 25-year-old’s car left the track and hit a recovery vehicle that was removing the Sauber of Adrian Sutil which had come off on the previous lap at the same corner. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton with only 47 of 53 laps possible following a red flag after Bianchi’s crash.

A statement from the FIA read: “Adrian Sutil lost control of his car, spun and hit the tyre barrier on the outside of turn seven. The marshals displayed double waved yellow flags before the corner to warn drivers of the incident. A recovery vehicle was despatched in order to lift the car and take it to a place of safety behind the guardrail. While this was being done the driver of car 17, Jules Bianchi, lost control of his car, travelled across the run-off area and hit the back of the tractor.”

The statement continued: “The driver was removed from the car, taken to the circuit medical centre and then by ambulance to hospital. The CT scan shows he has suffered a severe head injury and is undergoing surgery. Following this, he will be moved to intensive care where he will be monitored. Mie General Hospital will issue an update as soon as further information becomes available.”

The race was stopped shortly after Bianchi’s crash and the FIA announced the driver was unconscious and had been taken to hospital by ambulance rather than by helicopter. There was immediate concern across the paddock as the seriousness of the accident became clear. The race had begun under the safety car in heavy rain and was red-flagged after two laps causing a delay of 20 minutes. But after a restart and a period of drying, the downpour returned and Bianchi left the track on lap 44. Sutil, who was unhurt after his incident, witnessed the crash and, in his opinion, the extremely wet conditions were to blame.

“It was the same as what happened to me, he had been aquaplaning but just one lap later,” he said. “It hit him hard. That is all I can say. I have no information about how he is but I really hope for him that it is all OK and my thoughts are with him. It was more or less the same crash, but the outcome was a bit different. [The tractor] came out to rescue my car, and then it all happened.”

Sutil criticised the decision not to deploy the safety car sooner after his crash. “I think everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners,” he said. “When it is getting late and the rain increases, let’s say when you have an accident there, you should probably think about a safety car.”

The race’s late 3pm start meant that, after the earlier rain delay, the closing laps took place under heavy clouds as dusk was falling. Serious questions have already been asked about why the start time was not brought forward. With the knowledge typhoon Phanfone was approaching, the FIA had offered an earlier start of 11am but it was reportedly rejected by the race promoters, Honda, because they did not believe fans would make it to the circuit in time.

Sutil confirmed that the track conditions had a part to play in the crashes. “It was quite difficult,” he said. “In the end we got more rain and it was dark so visibility was getting less and less and this corner was a tricky one the whole way through. hen it got dark, you couldn’t see where the wet patches were and that is why I lost the car and it really surprised me.”

Formula One cars are designed to rigorous safety specifications but are built with the expectation of impacts with trackside structures such as tyre barriers or safety walls, rather than recovery vehicles, which would have caused far more severe damage. “It was a horrible incident,” Jenson Button said. “It is an incident you hope never happens in Formula One. I saw the Marussia behind the crane, and it was very damaged, which was surprising.”

Celebrations were understandably muted for Hamilton, who took a 10-point championship lead over his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. As news of the crash reached fans, they filed from the circuit in near silence.

Hamilton, who described the conditions as “difficult throughout” was also focused on Bianchi immediately after the race. “Our first thoughts go to Jules,” he said. “It overshadows everything else when one of our colleagues is injured and we are praying for him. Next to this, the race result doesn’t seem significant at all.”

Niki Lauda, who withdrew from the championship-deciding Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji in 1976 because he considered the weather conditions too dangerous, believed neither the rain nor the dark was the problem on Sunday. “There were safety cars put in and the race was run safe more or less to the end so it could have been run to the end without the accident. Motor racing is dangerous. We get used to it if nothing happens and then suddenly we’re all surprised.

“But we always have to be aware that motor racing is very dangerous and this accident today is the coming together of various difficult things. One car goes off, the truck comes out and then the next car goes off. It was very unfortunate.”

The rain, which had been persistent for most of the day eased off 30 minutes before the start. Then with 10 minutes to go the skies opened and a start behind the safety car was quickly announced, with all the teams heading out in full wet tyres. The conditions at the start were treacherous and the visibility terrible. Hamilton radioed his crew to tell them he could not see Rosberg in front and before they had completed two laps the race was red-flagged and the cars returned to the pit lane. The downpour eased and the cars took to the track behind the safety car.

By lap six many drivers were happy with the conditions and began making calls for the racing to begin. Hamilton directed his radio message to the race director, Charlie Whiting, saying: “Charlie, the track is fine, we’ve already done two more laps, the track is good.” But the safety car remained out and by lap nine some drivers including Button considered the conditions closer to suiting the intermediate tyres. When racing began Button duly took them at the restart and it was the right choice. The advantage it gave him paid off and he finished fifth.

Visibility and grip had improved enough by lap 25 to enable DRS and Hamilton immediately closed on his team-mate. He had a look to overtake Rosberg going into turn one but was unable to do so. A lap later Hamilton pushed again, moving out wide at turn one as he had done in practice, only this time he kept it out of the wall.

On lap 29 Hamilton pulled ahead of Rosberg, coming out of the start-finish straight DRS zone he went round the outside at turn one, clearly enjoying more grip than Rosberg who had gone defensive on the inside. That Hamilton had more pace was clear as he moved a remarkable 4.8sec clear within two laps. It was enough to ensure his victory.

The Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas struggled in the wet as the team’s cars have all season and could only convert third and fourth on the grid to fifth and sixth. They were followed home in the points positions by Nico Hülkenberg (Force India), Jean-Éric Vergne (Toro Rosso) and Sergio Pérez (Force India).

Fernando Alonso’s difficult weekend became even worse when he was forced to retire after losing power because of an electrical problem just four corners into the third lap. His Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was 12th, behind Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) who will take Sebastian Vettel’s place at Red Bull next season.

Bianchi is a member of Ferrari’s young driver programme and tested for the team that provides engines for Marussia in 2010. The Frenchman joined Marussia in 2013 and scored their first points in Formula One, with a ninth place at the Monaco Grand Prix this year. Ferarri’s team principal, Marco Mattiacci, is understood to have joined Bianchi at the hospital.