Really Bad F1 Crash

[JB400]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoinAuyjLDA


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nervous-wait-f1-driver-bianchis-family-team-051107586.html

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Yikes!

[chaos52]

I can't imagine the force required to lift up the pay loader like that.

[timmycharger]

it had just started raining, I think he was still on slicks vs. rain tires, but I would imagine that there was a local yellow flag in that corner due to the other car that had crashed, they said he was doing 100mph

[Aero426]

When you go off in the wet grass, it is like speeding up.

[Ghoste]

Don't those things have a lot of kinetic energy built up as well?

[73rallye440magnum]

Kinetic energy is 1/2mv^2.

m being mass and v being velocity.

Yeah, that's a lot of kinteic energy.

[tan top]

  that's a bad wreck ,

[TruckDriver]

Video deleted....

[bakerhillpins]

This is still active. For the moment.

http://jalopnik.com/first-video-of-jules-bianchi-crash-shows-how-violent-th-1642872386

It's crazy, I feel for the driver AND the corner workers who were dealing with the other car even though they escaped injury.   

[Ghoste]

it had just started raining, I think he was still on slicks vs. rain tires, but I would imagine that there was a local yellow flag in that corner due to the other car that had crashed, they said he was doing 100mph

No and I think thats part of the problem.  The local was waving a yellow but that station was the NEXT one.  The accident being cleared could not have been any closer to the station prior to the local and was clearly waving a green above the accident if watch the video.  I think he came in on the station seeing green and spotted them clearing the wreck just below at the last moment and on the dry tires was screwed.  I think he may have been trying to avoid it and lost control and just slid straight into the payloader.
Just my armchair opinion of course but you can still see them waving green above the wreck.

[HPP]

Video deleted....

Probably because Bianchi's is still in the ICU in critical condition. All the FIA will admit to is severe head trauma. The guy's racing career is most likely over.

[timmycharger]

Video deleted....

Probably because Bianchi's is still in the ICU in critical condition. All the FIA will admit to is severe head trauma. The guy's racing career is most likely over.

I just read on PlanetF1.com that the other drivers were asked not to discuss the accident/Bianchi by the FIA as they are doing their investigation.

http://www.planetf1.com/

[John_Kunkel]

it had just started raining, I think he was still on slicks vs. rain tires

Regardless of the tires the decision to race in the rain is the cause of this incident....reminiscent of the Niki Lauda incident in which he was overruled when he wanted to cancel the race due to rain.

This macho "race no matter what" attitude is just plain stupid....NHRA stops a race when it starts to rain and they don't make turns (intentionally).

[timmycharger]

it had just started raining, I think he was still on slicks vs. rain tires

Regardless of the tires the decision to race in the rain is the cause of this incident....reminiscent of the Niki Lauda incident in which he was overruled when he wanted to cancel the race due to rain.

This macho "race no matter what" attitude is just plain stupid....NHRA stops a race when it starts to rain and they don't make turns (intentionally).

I dunno, in my opinion, F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport in technology and talent, if you stop them running in the rain, its a backwards step for the sport.   Also, not sure if you can compare NHRA with F1, in NHRA its all about traction off the line, obviously in the rain would be ridiculous to try to hook up.  F1 is a whole different ball of wax where they use aero to help the cars stick.

[ds440]

Just to clarify: Bianchi was on rain tires at the time of his accident - "intermediates" to be exact - as was most of the field at that time.  I don't believe anyone switched to slicks at any point.  They were racing in a typhoon....not a normal rain shower.  Which was met with criticism even before the race began as F1 has cancelled races due to rain in the past. 

However, (and this is just my opinion) with this incident the rain is not really relevant.  The fact that he hit - and actually went UNDER - safety equipment is the bigger issue.  Why he went off track doesn't matter as much as what occurred after his spin.  If the track was bone dry and he cut a tire down, or hit an oil slick, the same results could've transpired.  They are calling it a "freak accident", but unfortunately the rule books are sometimes written in blood.  Perhaps a revision of the safety car rules (or the deployment thereof), plus investigation the types of safety equipment allowed on a hot track is in order.  All this is just one idiot's opinion....what the hell do I know... but surely a lesson can be learned from this.  At least I'd like to think so.  F1 hasn't had a fatality in 20 years. 

In the meantime, I hope the kid pulls through. 

[HPP]

[
I just read on PlanetF1.com that the other drivers were asked not to discuss the accident/Bianchi by the FIA as they are doing their investigation.

http://www.planetf1.com/

Investigation, as in how do we spin doctor this to justify our position on not cancelling the race after several drivers complained.

[Mike DC]

Freak accident is right. 

Sometimes shit just happens.  If we respond with new rules after every single tragic incident then we risk ruling away what we love about the sport in the first place.  It's safer not to drive the cars in the rain but it's also safer not to drive them at all.


   

[John_Kunkel]

Also, not sure if you can compare NHRA with F1, in NHRA its all about traction off the line, obviously in the rain would be ridiculous to try to hook up.  F1 is a whole different ball of wax where they use aero to help the cars stick.

Oh?  A TF dragster wing provides 8000 lbs. of downforce.

[HPP]

yes, at 300 mph. What does all that force translate to in PSI based on the massive tire size on the rear of a fueler? The tires are 17.5 wide and at their elastic distortion limits are putting maybe 4-6" worth of diameter on to the ground. That's 70 square inches times two, so 140 inches of tire with 8000# of force, which is about 57 PSI. Is that enough to squeeze out water and drive through the wet?

At the starting line where traction is a premium and downforce doesn't exist, a handful of water could throw it into the wall without much effort.