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Gasly narrowly missed tractor on the track: FIA publish this statement

9 October 2022 at 07:11
  • GPblog.com

Pierre Gasly was furious after he overtook a tractor on the Suzuka circuit Sunday. The AlphaTauri driver lashed out strongly at the FIA and the governing body has since released a statement on the incident, but whether that statement makes sense is highly questionable.

Curious statement from FIA

It is claimed that the Frenchman was speeding under a red flag, though video footage demonstrated that Gasly didn't have long to react to the red lights. The statement seems a little awkward to say the least.

"In relation to the recovery of the incident on Lap 3, the Safety Car had been deployed and the race neutralized."Car 10 [Pierre Gasly], which had collected damage and pitted behind the Safety Car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field. As conditions were deteriorating, the Red Flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap." the FIA said.

Not only Gasly 

Meanwhile, the race committee has announced that it will investigate the situation after the Grand Prix. This is just as well, because Gasly was certainly not the only driver who drove past the tractor on the track. The footage shows that all drivers overtook the tractor behind the safety car. So it wasn't just Gasly.

There is much dissatisfaction with the FIA's statement.