Gasly welcomes “good steps” from FIA in Suzuka F1 crane report

The AlphaTauri driver was the most vocal in the aftermath of the incident, after happening across the recovery vehicle when trying to catch the safety car queue on the second lap following a pitstop.

Following the race, he called the use of the crane disrespectful to the memory of his friend Jules Bianchi, who died as a result of injuries received after a collision with a crane at the 2014 Japanese GP.

Like other drivers, Gasly subsequently spoke to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem about what had happened.

The FIA report contains a series of recommendations essentially urging extra caution with the use of recovery vehicles in the future, and for example ensuring that teams and drivers are notified of their use by race control. The report also confirmed that henceforth there will be no rotation of race directors.

It also detailed Gasly’s speeding offence, noting that he “drove in a reckless manner by not respecting the flags, thereby ignoring the basic safety rules”. However, the Frenchman preferred to focus on the bigger picture and the positive changes.

“I was most interested by what they will put in place for the future,” said Gasly when asked by Motorsport.com about the report. “That’s what I discussed with Mohammed after the race in Suzuka, that whatever happened there happened.

“And most important is just moving forward, that we make sure everybody is safe, whether it’s in F1 or in the lower categories.

“And that’s what they are they are working on. I think what they put in place is clearly good steps forward. I know we’re going to discuss it at the drivers’ briefing, and anything more we could do will be welcome.

“But I’m glad to see they worked on this matter very quickly, and came up with solutions already the race straight after that happened.”

During the red flag delay after the first start Gasly went to see race director Eduardo Freitas to ask about the crane, and he was left furious when the Portuguese official told him it was “normal”.

Gasly confirmed that he has subsequently spoken again to Freitas, but he downplayed any personal disagreement: “His side of the story, my side of the story, as I’ve said, it doesn’t matter who’s right or wrong.

“At the end of the day, we are risking our life, and again we just want to be as safe as possible. There are always going to be risks driving these cars in these…