Freitas sidelined as F1 race director following Japanese GP incident

Eduardo Freitas who shared F1's race director role with Niels Wittich this year has been sidelined by the FIA for the remainder of the season following the crane controversy that marked the Japanese Grand Prix.

A tractor crane was sent out on the track at Suzuka shortly after the start of the Japanese Grand Prix to recover the stricken Ferrari of Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard's crash on the opening lap of the wet race.

However, the crane presence put at risk not only those cars running behind the safety car in poor visibility conditions but especially Pierre Gasly, who was catching up to the field after a first lap pit stop, and two marshals who were working to recover Sainz's car.

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The incident brought back emotional memories of Jules Bianchi's unfortunate crash and collision with an intervention vehicle at Suzuka in 2014, a dramatic event that the Frenchman did not survive.

The FIA's report on the tractor-crane incident which was released in full on Friday by the FIA, stated that Gasly had been "reckless" while passing the scene of the crash but acknowledged that it "in hindsight, as the weather conditions were changing, it would have been prudent to have delayed the deployment of the recovery vehicles on track.

"It was acknowledged that every effort should be made to perform an efficient and safe recovery of cars. A longer recovery period, in conditions such as those which prevailed in Suzuka, may result in a race suspension.

"It was also acknowledged that while the safety car is used to neutralise a race, the FIA has control over the cars directly behind the safety car, but it does not have sufficient control over the cars that are elsewhere around the track."

Furthermore, the FIA has confirmed that race control will deliver in the future a message to the teams and to drivers, warning them of a presence on track of a recovery vehicle.

The governing body will also work to ensure the advertising hoardings – one of which became unattached and was picked up by Gasly and damaged the AlphaTauri's front wing – are more securely fixed while water drainage at Suzuka will also be improved.

For the remaining four races of 2022, Niels Wittich will permanently assigned to race control.

"For the remaining races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the FIA will not use the system of rotating the role of Race Director," reads part of the statement from the FIA regarding the report.

"From the United States Grand Prix in Austin and the following races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Niels Wittich will assume the position of Race Director with the support of Race Control staff."

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