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Jules Bianchi suffered head injuries after crash at Japanese Grand Prix
FIA published 396-page report into accident Wednesday
Bianchi currently in French hospital
French driver's Marussia team folded in November
Jules Bianchi “did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control” during his crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, according to an FIA report published Wednesday.
The Marussia driver, who suffered life-threatening head injuries, crashed into a recovery vehicle at Suzuka in October and was immediately taken to hospital.
The 25-year-old remains unconscious at a French hospital in Nice but is breathing unaided and is no longer in an artificial coma.
The Frenchman suffered a diffuse axonal head injury after colliding with the Sauber of Adrian Sutil, which was being removed from the circuit.
According to a 396-page report put together by a 10-person panel at the FIA - Formula One’s governing body – “Bianchi did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control at the same point on the track as Sutil.”
The report also states that during the “two seconds Bianchi’s car was leaving the track and traversing the run-off area, he applied both throttle and brake together, using both feet.
“The FailSafe algorithm is designed to over-ride the throttle and cut the engine, but was inhibited by the Torque Coordinator, which controls the rear Brake-by-Wire (BBW) system,” said the report.
“Bianchi’s Marussia has a unique design of BBW, which proved to be incompatible with the FailSafe settings.”
According to the report, Bianchi’s car, which weighed 700 kilograms, hit the 6500kg crane at a speed of 126 kilometers an hour.
“Bianchi’s helmet struck the sloping underside of the crane,” read the report.
“The magnitude of the blow and the glancing nature of it caused massive head deceleration and angular acceleration, leading to his severe injuries.
“All rescue and medical procedures were followed, and their expediency are considered to have contributed significantly to the saving of Bianchi’s life.”
The FIA also confirmed that the actions taken following Sutil’s crash were “consistent with the regulations” and state there was no “apparent reason” why the safety car should have been deployed sooner.
It also states that Bianchi “over-controlled the oversteering car, such that he left the track earlier than Sutil, and headed towards a point “up-stream” along the barrier.
“Unfortunately, the mobile crane was in front of this part of the barrier, and he struck and under-ran the rear of it at high speed.”
Bianchi’s Marussia team folded in November after administrators failed to find fresh investment.
In the days after the crash, Marussia moved to address accusations that Bianchi had not reduced his speed and that the team had actively encouraged him not to do so.
“The Marussia F1 Team is shocked and angered by these allegations,” said the statement issued in October.
“At a time when its driver is critically ill in hospital, and the team has made clear that its highest priority is consideration for Jules and his family, it is distressed to have to respond to deeply upsetting rumors and inaccuracies in respect of the circumstances of Jules’ accident.
“Regarding point 1, Jules did slow down under the double waved yellow flags. That is an irrefutable fact, as proven by the telemetry data, which the team has provided to the FIA.
“Regarding point 2, an audio copy of the full radio transmission between Jules and the team, and a written transcript, were provided to the FIA.
“It is quite clear from the transmission and the transcript that at no point during the period leading up to Jules’ accident did the team urge Jules to drive faster or make any comments suggesting that he should do so.”
