Carlos Sainz explained how poor visibility led to his opening lap crash during the start of the Japanese Grand Prix. The Ferrari driver was chasing Sergio Perez for third on the Intermediate tyres having lost out at the start, when he aquaplaned off coming out of Spoon Curve at Turn 14. "I was trying to get out of Checo's [Perez] slipstream and suddenly I found myself in a puddle and [had] hard aquaplaning and lost the car," he told media. "The more scary part came a bit later when I was stuck in the middle of the track and I could see cars coming, and I knew that they couldn't see I was there [stopped]. "You could see also Gasly and a few others come close from taking me [out]. If there's no visibility you're leaving it in God's hands."
Sainz reacts to recovery vehicle on track
Shortly after the Safety Car was deployed the red flag was shown, suspending the race as the rain intensified over the track. During the Safety Car period a recovery tractor came onto the circuit, creating a near-miss scenario as car sped past it at speed under the neutralised conditions. Pierre Gasly was furious over the team radio , while fellow drivers also expressed their concerns given the lack of visibility on the track. Speaking to Sky Sports , Sainz added: "I still don’t know why in these conditions we keep risking having a tractor on-track, because it’s just worthless. "If you’re going to red flag it anyway, why risk it?"
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