'I could have killed myself' - Pierre Gasly and Formula 1 stars fume after tractor allowed on track

A host of F1 stars have slammed the FIA for allowing a tractor on track at the Japanese Grand Prix, prompting a near-miss with Pierre Gasly. Sunday's race started in extremely wet conditions and Carlos Sainz quickly spun out. Ad A tractor was on the track shortly after as Sainz’s Ferrari needed to be removed from the circuit, with double yellow flags soon upgraded to a red flag.

Japanese Grand Prix'It was quite clear' Verstappen tried to block me says NorrisYESTERDAY AT 08:20 On-board footage suggested AlphaTauri’s Gasly had little time to react to the red flag before he encountered the tractor, fortunately swinging past it up the inside at speed in terrible visibility. Speaking with his team on the pit wall afterwards, Gasly scolded: «I could have killed myself. there’s a f****** tractor, I’m driving flat out.» Gasly was summoned to the stewards over the near-miss, with the summons saying Gasly was driving at «speeds of up to 250 km/h when completing the lap under the red flag after passing the scene of the incident».

His impatient approach to speed was due to having pitted after an advertising hoarding hit him following Sainz’s accident, and after pitting he was attempt to rejoin the pack. In wet conditions the spray brought up by other vehicles exacerbated the poor visibility, and questions were quickly raised over the reason for having a tractor out when there was little chance to see it easily. Red Bull chief Christian Horner has called for a full investigation, while McLaren driver Lando Norris slammed the decision to allow the tractor out while drivers were on track.