F1 driver loses all control in terrifying crash as ‘marshals scramble’ | F1 | Sport

Williams F1 reserve driver Luke Browning escaped unscathed after a horrifying high-speed crash at the Suzuka Circuit on Wednesday. The Brit credited the HANS device for saving him from serious injury after he slid on standing water on the track that resulted into him crashing into the tyre wall, leaving him upside down.

The on-board camera on the car captured the terrifying ordeal that saw Browning lose grip, slide onto the gravel, strike the barrier, then careen over the Armco and land upside down. Miraculously, the 24-year-old walked away without a scratch after becoming the victim of the deluge in Japan, 80 minutes into the session, as marshals on the track rushed to help him from the wreckage.

Browning said: “It was a bit of an unfortunate crash. I just aquaplaned and then I was just a passenger. In hindsight, it would have been better to pit when the rain started to come down harder.

“These are lessons you learn; it’s all about learning over here and today was a lesson that I’ll take forward in my career. I’m completely fine, no pain. Luckily I landed on the hay and didn’t hit the barriers, so all good. The HANS device is fantastic – it saved my neck, I would have thought.”

It was a disappointing end to a productive day for Browning after he was competitive in the testing conditions. He finished fourth-fastest in the morning before charting a fifth-fastest time in the afternoon as his best time was only bettered by Ren Sato, who he fell 0.685 seconds behind.

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Kondo Racing team manager Nobuaki Adachi confirmed that the damage was not as bad as first feared as they look to have it repaired in time for the second day of testing on Thursday. It has been said that mechanics worked until the early hours of the morning to repair the damage in order for Browning to take part on Thursday.

But he couldn’t replicate his success from day one as he set the 18th-fastest time of the afternoon day two at Suzuka. Toyota driver Nierei Fukuzumi set the fastest time, 1.075 seconds faster than the 24-year-old.

The race calendar will get underway on April 4 in Motegi. Racers will embark on a 12-race competition across Japan until the end of November across two days at Suzuka.