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New Bianchi crash data revealed
New crash data from Jules Bianchi's accident at the Japanese Grand Prix has been revealed.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 23, 2015, 4:19 PM
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The FIA has completed a detailed investigation into the crash to try to make sure that F1 learns lessons from what happened.
The results, which have been published in the FIA's new World Accident Database, reveals how unlucky Bianchi was because the accident was made worse by the car being forced underneath the crane it hit.
Impact at 126 km/h
The results of the accident, published in an exclusive report in German publication Auto Motor Und Sport, revealed that Bianchi lost control at 213 km/h, and hit the crane at 126 km/h just 2.61 seconds later.
The car struck the crane at an angle of 55 degrees, with the nose digging under the rear of the recovery vehicle.
The car impact force was 58.8G, which would be normal for an accident against a solid object like a crash barrier.
However, the accident was made worse by the car being forced down as it went underneath the back of the crane.
Initial findings, taken from Bianchi's ear plugs, suggested he had suffered a 92G impact when this happened.
There were suggestions that the forces could have been greater, but these have not been confirmed by the FIA.
Lessons to be learned
Andy Mellor, who is the FIA's vice president of the Safety Commission, told Auto Motor Und Sport: "The problem was that the Marussia partly dipped below the stem of the crane, and was therefore pressed down from above by the underside of the crane.
"It worked like a brake, with an abrupt deceleration – and in this process there was contact between the helmet and the crane. We have never seen this before."
Peter Wright, head of the FIA's Safety Commission, said the governing body had left no stone unturned in its bid to make sure that lessons were learned.
"It is still often the case that some accident must first occur in order to learn from them," he said. "It was a scenario we could not previously imagine.
"That's why it was very important to really investigate this accident to the smallest detail. We have never invested so much time and effort in an analysis."
The FIA's key responses to the Bianchi accident were improved cockpit head protection for drivers, as well as the introduction of a Virtual Safety Car system to slow down cars in the event of circumstances like there being a recovery vehicle on track.
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