Haas chief speaks out on F1 rules amid fear serious injury inevitable | F1 | Sport

Haas chief Ayao Komatsu said team bosses will discuss safety concerns with Formula 1 and the FIA amid fears a driver could be seriously injured, after Oliver Bearman luckily escaped that fate at the Japanese Grand Prix. The British driver was left limping in agony after a crash at Suzuka on Sunday, though scans later revealed no broken bones.

The terrifying incident came about because of the huge speed difference between his Haas and the Alpine of Franco Colapinto as they approached the famous Spoon Curve. Bearman, who had identified it as a place where he could get past the Argentine, used his boost button which led to him arriving at the corner travelling 50kph faster than the car ahead.

He had to swerve to avoid slamming into the back of the Alpine, but that led to him losing control at 308kph and caused a 50G impact with the barrier. He was seen limping as marshals helped him to safety and was taken to the medical centre where it was confirmed that, luckily, the 20-year-old had suffered no lasting damage.

Once he was discharged, Bearman said: “I’m absolutely fine. It was a scary moment that happened out there, but everything is okay which is the main thing.” But when asked if he is worried that someone else might be badly hurt in a similar incident in future, given batteries in the new F1 engines are all recharging and deploying at different rates, his team principal Komatsu replied: “Yes.

“This is why exactly I’ve been saying, as an F1 community together, we’ve got to look at this. We cannot ignore it. I cannot say right now what the solution should be, but I’m sure we’ll be discussing it. We’ve got a meeting on April 9 with the [power unit manufacturers] and I’m sure we’ll be discussing it at team principal level as well. I’m sure we’ll be all working closely together to make sure that we improve the safety as well as the racing spectacle.

“Safety should always be top of the list. We’ve been talking, like I said, we’ve been talking about closing speed and then this accident happened, so we just cannot ignore it. Now we’ve got this one example, we’ll be discussing what’s the best way to go forward. For sure, nobody’s going to be ignoring it.”

Komatsu also made a point of absolving Colapinto of any blame for the accident. The Japanese team boss added: “Leading up to that turn 13, Colapinto, he was always doing something consistent. It’s not his fault at all. The bit I saw, he didn’t do anything different. And then lap before his speed was exactly the same. So we knew what we were dealing with.

“It’s just that we are deploying more through there so, even with normal laps, we had a 20kph advantage. That’s why he wanted to go for that. He used the boost button, but then that meant speed delta is 50kph. I’m sure you guys saw on the onboard, the closing speed was massive. [Bearman] just misjudged it.”

In response to the incident, the FIA put out a statement later on Sunday clarifying that rule changes will be looked at ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on the first weekend of May. It read: “By design, these regulations include a number of adjustable parameters, particularly in relation to energy management, which allow for optimisation based on real-world data.

“It has been the consistent position of all stakeholders that a structured review would take place after the opening phase of the season, to allow for sufficient data to be gathered and analysed. A number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.

“Any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis. The FIA will continue to work in close and constructive collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA’s mission. At this stage, any speculation regarding the nature of potential changes would be premature.”