Franco Colapinto explains ‘really dangerous’ Bearman crash speed difference

Franco Colapinto said Oliver Bearman’s high-speed crash at Suzuka appeared “really dangerous”, with the Haas driver having gone off behind the Alpine.

Bearman rounded the right-hander before Spoon Curve and had a significant closing speed on the Alpine driver, which saw him take avoiding action on the grass and resulted in a 50G impact in the outside barrier.

Franco Colapinto details Oliver Bearman Suzuka crash concerns

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

Bearman escaped without major injuries, with bruising to his right knee, though he was seen limping away from his stricken car in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu stressed that Colapinto was in no way to blame for such an incident, which he believed simply came as a result of how quickly Bearman approached from behind as the Alpine ran out of battery power, while the Haas appeared to deploy its electrical capability.

Onboard footage showed Colapinto’s recharge light flashing twice as Bearman approached after the previous hairpin, but the drop-off in speed saw him take to the grass and lose control from there.

Having seen the accident from his own perspective, Colapinto confirmed he asked about Bearman’s condition over team radio, but estimated the Haas driver was carrying as much as 50kph [30mph] more than him through the same corner.

He compared such a moment to his frightening near-miss at the race start in Australia, where he had to swerve away from a slow-starting car due to the closing speed – which is “when it becomes dangerous” in this new era.

“It’s really odd,” Colapinto said after the race.

“It’s a corner that we are doing flat and [he was] just like more than 50k quicker than me, so it’s very strange.

“I think it gets really sketchy when the straights are not straight and it’s turning – because we are not on a straight line, we are kind of turning and, once I looked in the mirror, he was spinning in the grass. But even spinning, he overtook me, so imagine the speed difference.

“I think at some points it becomes really dangerous. I’m glad he’s okay. I saw him walking in the paddock, and seems fine.

More from the Japanese Grand Prix

Antonelli wins in Japan after huge crash for Bearman brings out Safety Car

Oliver Bearman health update after huge 50G Japanese GP crash

“I never moved or anything like that. So I think the speed difference, the marbles, is like many things, but the biggest one is that one car is doing 50k or more less than the other. That’s when it becomes dangerous.

“It’s the same thing that happened to me in Melbourne. Just one was in a race start, and I had to avoid something that was 100k’s lower than me.

“It’s things that are happening with these cars, we just need to understand how to make it a bit less of a problem.”

Such was the speed difference between the two drivers, the Alpine driver theorised that Bearman had potentially chosen that moment to try and attack, explaining that he did not use his Boost Mode through the long right up to Spoon all race, but at that time, the Briton was arriving much quicker than before.

However, given that differential, it makes it harder for drivers to monitor, which he hopes gets taken into account in upcoming races.

“I think things to review for the future,” Colapinto added, “especially when you don’t get the idea of how much quicker the other car is, because there is no way of us knowing.

“We look in the mirror once, and then suddenly the other car has gone past you already. You get a bit lost with that.

“I never used the boost in that straight corner. I think Ollie was using it, but it looked like he was really strong, because I think he came also like 45k quicker than his previous lap. I mean, that’s really a big difference.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Heartbreak for Oscar Piastri as surprise Suzuka win slips away