Jules Bianchi, ten years after Suzuka accident: how Formula 1 safety has changed
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It has now been ten years since the sad, and in hindsight tragic, 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. A race that, despite being distant in time, still feels very close and vivid in the memories of fans and those involved in the sport, with the rain on the Suzuka track, the start behind the safety car, the red flag, and the wait for Jules Bianchi’s Marussia to return to the pit. Unfortunately, that return never happened due to the ultimately fatal crash of car number 17 against a recovery vehicle that had entered the track to retrieve Adrian Sutil’s Sauber, which had gone off at Dunlop Curve. It was one of the most tragic days in the history of the sport, but if analyzed cynically, it also marked a turning point in the safety of a sport that, since Imola 1994, had been forced to confront death once again.
Since then, Formula 1 has been compelled to take action and introduce changes to maximize driver safety on the track. Many errors were made in the management of that race, as for the recovery of Adrian Sutil’s Sauber, the race marshals decided to bring a crane onto the track to lift the car, all while under a double yellow flag imposed by Race Control, without deploying the safety car. Jules Bianchi, after losing control at the same spot, collided with the crane, ending up underneath it and suffering fatal decelerations. A series of negative events led to this tragic outcome, after which the FIA and Formula 1 immediately took steps to improve safety on the track, especially in difficult, adverse conditions.
The first significant change was the introduction of the Virtual Safety Car in 2015 (after some tests in 2014). Unlike the traditional safety car, this system does not require the safety car to enter the track but instead imposes a lap time limit on drivers to maintain positions and gaps while controlling speed during potential danger. The VSC is typically deployed by Race Control in case of debris on the track or accidents that do not require a red flag or full safety car deployment. It is a compromise to ensure safety without significantly slowing or altering the race.
Furthermore, following the impact of Jules Bianchi’s Marussia against the crane, the FIA began studying a solution to protect the only exposed part of the driver in the car: the head. To this end, despite fierce controversy, the Halo was introduced, a titanium protection system consisting of a curved bar placed above the driver’s head, which has been made mandatory on F1, F2, and Formula E cars and gradually in lower categories as well. In the years following its introduction, the Halo has contributed to saving drivers from potentially serious or fatal accidents. A series of measures, therefore, have tangibly improved driver safety. Despite this progress, the journey does not stop: every year, the GPDA, FIA, and FOM work to find solutions and areas for improvement, both in terms of car design and, perhaps more importantly, in managing controversial and dangerous situations during all race events.
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