Drivers react to Bearman’s 50G crash, Verstappen calls for change

Oliver Bearman caused a nasty moment during the Japanese GP. The Haas driver crashed with an impact of 50G against the barriers during the race at Suzuka. Franco Colapinto saw it happen, and after the race is mainly happy that his colleague emerged from the car relatively unscathed. Max Verstappen hopes that after the crash, the FIA will ‘finally’ implement changes to the new regulations on safety grounds.

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A nasty moment during the Japanese GP: Oliver Bearman went off track during a battle with Franco Colapinto and then spun into the barriers with a hard impact. The Haas driver was able to get out of his car, but footage showed he had difficulty standing. After a medical examination, it turned out that nothing was broken for the young driver, but he had sustained a bruise to his right knee.

Many drivers already warned after the test days in Barcelona and Bahrain about these types of crashes, where the speed difference is so large due to the difference in power. “That’s what you get with these things,” Max Verstappen stated afterwards to Motorsport.com. “One car is practically without power, while the other uses mushroom mode. Then you quickly have a difference of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour. That is truly enormous.” With ‘mushroom mode’, Verstappen refers to the game Mario Kart, in which the ‘mushroom’ provides extra speed.

Implementing changes

According to Verstappen, the situation between Colapinto and Bearman in the race was caused by the current way drivers have to deal with energy and power under the current regulations. “It can sometimes look like moving in the braking zone or changing lines,” he explained. “But you also have it when accelerating. You can get big crashes.” The Dutchman therefore also advocates for change: “When it comes to safety, it’s easy to adjust things,” Verstappen stated. “You can use safety for many things. So maybe we should use that word to finally implement some changes.”

Verstappen is supported by Carlos Sainz, co-chairman of the drivers’ union GPDA. “We have warned the FIA before that such things will happen under the current Formula 1 regulations,” the Spaniard told the media in Japan. “We must implement changes very soon if we want to prevent something like this from happening again.”

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Relief for Colapinto

Franco Colapinto saw Bearman’s crash happen before his eyes at Suzuka. The Argentine is mainly relieved after the race that his colleague is unharmed. “I’m relieved that everything is okay with him,” the Argentine told F1TV after the race. “That was also the first thing I said to the team, because that was a really big hit. I saw how he spun on the grass, and how his car then hit the barriers. So I’m glad he’s okay.”

UPDATE: Bearman himself also let it be known after the race that he was okay after his crash, and thanked the fans for their support.

Read everything about the Japanese GP here