Site logo

High Value?

FEATURE BY MIKE LAWRENCE
31/05/2016

The family of Jules Bianchi has employed a firm of London lawyers to argue that they deserve compensation for his death. The website of the legal firm, Stewarts Law, says that it 'is the UK's only litigation-only law firm and specialises in high value and complex disputes.'

Is there a clue in the words 'high value'?

At every motor sport event I have attended there have been warnings that the sport is dangerous, this has been displayed on tickets, posters and in the programmes from, kart meetings to Grands Prix. The warning has always been clear and has pulled no punches. It was not like the cigarette company which advertised a menthol brand (Consulate) as, 'cool as a mountain stream' when the harmful effects of tobacco were known in the industry.

Jules's family has known the cruelty of the sport, his great uncle, Lucien, winner at Le Mans in 1968, died while testing there the following year.

To recap on his accident in the 2014 Japanese GP. It had been raining and suddenly the downpour intensified. Adrian Sutil was the first to be caught out and he spun. Yellow flags came out and everyone, except Bianchi, drove appropriately. He came off and hit the mobile crane which was removing Sutil's car. He was rendered unconscious and died because of a diffuse axonal injury caused by massive deceleration. This is the same cause of injury and death when babies are severely shaken.

Ironically, it was advances in safety which prolonged the agony. At one time Jules's car would have disintegrated on impact and he would have died immediately. Death was also likely to have been instantaneous before the adoption of the HANS harness. I can think of several exceptional drivers whose careers were affected, or even curtailed, by what in retrospect we can see as diffuse axonal injury.

Incidentally the 'halo' structure which will be worn next year to make F1 cars look ridiculous would not have helped Jules. In the 111-year history of Grand Prix racing it might, I emphasise might, have saved the lives of two drivers, One was Alan Stacey driving for Team Lotus in the 1960 Belgian GP when a pheasant collided with his head. Even then a combination of a modern helmet and the HANS restraint would most likely have saved Alan.

The one occasion when a halo might have been really useful involved Tom Pryce in the 1977 South African GP when a young marshal ran across the track carrying a fire extinguisher. Tom hit the marshal and was struck by the extinguisher. Nobody called for the modification of the cars, it was regarded as a freak accident. The call came nearly forty years later, after Bianchi's accident, when a halo would have been useless.

There have been fatalities in other forms of racing which could have been prevented by a 'halo', but it is being adopted only in Formula One.

We have all heard of everyday drivers being killed when a foreign object went through the windscreen. We do not fit steel grilles to our windscreens.

Jules made a slight error, had he braked a second or so before he did, he might have made the corner. The greatest drivers in history have made bigger mistakes yet walked away from them. On different occasions, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna both had the Monaco GP in the bag when, with a few laps to go, they lost concentration and swiped the Armco in unforced errors.

In 1955, Alberto Ascari had inherited the lead at Monaco when he misjudged his braking and ended up in the harbour. He made it back to the shore employing 'a stylish crawl', according to one contemporary report.

The story may have been different had Ascari been strapped into his Lancia and had a modern race suit, helmet and HANS restraint., On the other hand there would have been Armco. The game of 'What if...' is for amusement only.

According to press reports the Bianchi family believes that it wrong to hold the Japanese GP in October, or at least their 'high value' legal representatives do. The F1 calendar has to consider logistics so it begins and ends with races away from Europe, where the teams are based. It also takes into account local climate so Spain, Monaco and Italy are at the beginning and end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere while Australia and Brazil are the same in the Southern Hemisphere.

There are sound reasons for the shape of the calendar which has been developed over many years. You can never legislate for the weather. Ayrton Senna established his reputation in only his sixth GP and then with a Toleman. It was the 1984 Monaco GP when the rain was so heavy the race was abandoned. Monte Carlo in early summer, who would have thought it might rain. There are goldfish who can remember the last time it happened.

Because Jules made a mistake, his family (or their 'high value' lawyers) believe that the whole calendar should be revised even though nobody can predict the weather, let alone control it. This is ridiculous. We have a series taking place on five continents, in both hemispheres, and over many years a reasonable compromise has been achieved. One driver makes a small error and everyone else must change. Do me a favour.

Jules hit a mobile crane and it can be argued that it should not have been where it was. Every circuit has its own topography, therefore its own problems and its own solutions. Suzuka had used mobile cranes for years and I would like to see evidence of any serious objection to the practice before Bianchi's accident. The circuit is not only used for racing throughout the season, but for track days and a racing school.

Suzuka is owned by Honda, which appears not to be named in the law suit. I guess suing a small F1 team in the lawyers' home court is easier than suing an industrial giant on its home turf.

The second Marussia, driven by Max Chilton, negotiated the same corner, in the same conditions, under the waved yellow flags, but at an appropriate speed. Max finished the race and the car had passed every crash and safety test. The team in the pits cannot control the decisions of a driver on the track.

Jules Bianchi drove too fast for the conditions. That was clear at the time and telemetry bears it out. I can understand his family's distress, but I have no time at all for the blame and compensation culture, it is a pestilence that damages society and it has been largely the creation of ambulance chasing lawyers.

Some ambulance chasers have been known to have given themselves airs with plush offices in smart locations. But then some sluts call themselves 'high class escorts' when they mean 'expensive sluts'; there being no such thing as a high class slut.

Jules Bianchi was a gifted and popular young man who was helped to his drive with Marussia by Ferrari, as part of its driver development programme. Earlier in 2014 he had rewarded Marussia with its first, its only, World Championship points by finishing ninth at Monaco. At Suzuka he made a small error, he should have braked a second or so earlier, that is how small the mistake was, but he didn't do that and paid with his life.

When, after nine months in a coma, he died, his passing was marked, sincerely, by everyone in F1. Speaking for myself, I would like to remember him as a bright talent. I do not want to remember him as the subject of a law suit which might damage, for cash, the sport he loved and which should remember him with affection and respect.

Motor racing is dangerous. It always has been and always will be. It is what gives the sport its edge. It is live, it is not simulation or Scalextric. I see drivers doing stuff I know I could not and that is why anyone watches any sport. We want to marvel at excellence and we would prefer to remember Jules because of what he achieved and not because of some 'high value' litigator.

Mike Lawrence.

Learn more about Mike and check out his previous features, here

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST FEATURES

more features >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images

POST A COMMENT

or Register for a Pitpass ID to have your say

Please note that all posts are reactively moderated and must adhere to the site's posting rules and etiquette.

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

 

1. Posted by airman1, 15/06/2016 20:00

"Just two things:

1. Jules had an option to slow down, he knew the risks involved, he had radio, he was informed.
2. Watching the race at the time, I was puzzled at the decision to move in with a crane/forklift at the time. Adrian's car was far less of a risk, than a forklift with an iron counterweight attached to it. It could have waited. This was an error in judgement on Charlie's part, and Track official's part, a result of a procedure not being flexible enough to take in the account extreme cases such was the weather, and a possibility that some drivers will not slow down, no matter how sensible this is (see point 1). Everything else is bs, Mike is right."

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Spindoctor, 06/06/2016 7:35

"I think the Bianchi family is seeking compensation in order to focus POM's mind on the Safety issues involved in the only way that Bernie understands: cash.

As others have pointed-out the fact that Motor Sport is "dangerous" doesn't mean that we should tolerate unnecessary danger to drivers or spectators. Jules may have been going "too fast", but had the retrieval vehicle not been there, or had it been of a different design, then he might still be alive. This is not "20/20 hindsight" but common-sense reflecting my immediate reaction to the accident."

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by father guido, 05/06/2016 9:21

"When you go through the gate. You are saying that you accept the consequences.

I remember seeing a film clip of a race like the Targa Florio or the Mille Millia. When safety equipment was still an option. So everybody is donning their new driving suits and helmets. And, this one Italian guy is wearing beautiful dress slacks. A red Polo short sleeve shirt with cigarette pocket { very important } . And Italian leather shoes. { the leather sole part was also very important } . Bare handed with cigarette. I will forever remember that picture. I might be wrong. But, I wanted to be that guy."

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by -ape-, 04/06/2016 19:19

"One remark only , i think indeed these ambulance chasers are not very high class , but a high class slut hmm we could argue about that and at least it is a honest job."

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by SimonWilliamsF1, 04/06/2016 9:55

"Well said Mike, Jules was a massive talent & in time, given the right car, he would have been a Grand Prix winner & a championship challenger, it will be such a shame, if in the future his name is remembered for a law suit & not for his raw speed & talent. "

Rating: Positive (1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

6. Posted by mickl, 03/06/2016 9:21

"All 'accidents' are preventable but it does feel like an ambulance chasing move. IF there was definite fault then surely this should have been a criminal case being brought forward instead of a civil suit.

Also, if motorsport was made totally safe, what's the difference between real life and playstation? Why bother with it at all then. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing when you look back on it."

Rating: Negative (-1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

7. Posted by mittagongcalling, 02/06/2016 23:03

"scf1fan ?? Just ask this, if the conditions were so bad why was he going so fast??, there were double waved yellows, there was radio comms to tell him of trouble on track, but it all comes down to everyone elses fault???????"

Rating: Positive (5)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

8. Posted by scf1fan, 02/06/2016 18:56

"Honestly, I think you minimize the issue here. I said this at the time, I'll say it again, it was as near to 100% as can be that they sent the retrieval vehicle out into the track area before the track was secure which is the real cause of JB's catastrophic injuries! That seems to be brushed aside . . . and the numerous comments about what JB could have/should have done are miss placed. He had no control over his vehicle at the time it hit the crane, and he had (to the best of my knowledge) no reason to expect the crane to be there from his previous lap. And maybe he just had a momentary lapse of concentration at a point where he hadn't expected the water on the track to be so deep . . . He was one man in a very busy cockpit under very adverse conditions.

So just ask this; if the retrieval vehicle was not there, would JB have survived the accident? I would bet the answer would have been yes. Then the question is, was the retrieval vehicle sent out at an appropriate time? I would argue no, since the condition of the track was so bad.

That was a judgment call no doubt. But it was a bad call and unfortunately, someone or group should be responsible for that call. (And hopefully learn from it!) It wasn't just "bad luck" that such a heavy vehicle was sent out into the track area before the cars were either collected behind the pace car, or had been stopped. Most of the time the race officials would have gotten away with it; this time they did not. JB did not have a "racing accident."

I don't care who the lawyers are Mike, I'll remember that JB died because the race officials were behind the state of the track in their decision making."

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

9. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 02/06/2016 13:57

"@gturner

Senna was not killed by a wheel, but by a suspension component piercing his helmet visor.

No-one is being close-minded about safety, least of all Mike Lawrence.

"Could have" and "Would have" are just examples of 20-20 hindsight.

Personally I feel the visor to be a better option than the halo, as it appears more versatile in deflecting debris. But how strong do you make it? Would vision be compromised through it? More research is needed through this year, I think."

Rating: Positive (1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

10. Posted by mittagongcalling, 02/06/2016 5:59

"The easiest solution is to have a speed limit on the cars, then we can all go and watch motogp!!"

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

11. Posted by gturner38, 02/06/2016 4:46

"The part I take exception to is the idea that F1 is somehow making a terrible mistake with regard to the halo simply because other series haven't gone in the same direction. We've clearly seen that drivers in cars with similar cockpit layouts are vulnerable to lethal blows to the head. The simple fact that Indycar or F3 hasn't taken the threat seriously doesn't mean that F1 should ignore it, too. Open-cockpit prototypes are being phased out of sportscar racing, proving once again that the sportscar world is more adaptable than the so-called pinnacle of motorsport.

I'd also point out that a bar preventing a tire from getting to a driver's head would have saved the life of Ayrton Senna, so it's not just Pryce that would have been saved. On a larger scale, Justin Wilson and Henry Surtees would still be around and there's at least a chance that Felipe Massa and James Hinchcliffe would have avoided nasty incidents that they were lucky to survive. Someone has to make the move and there's no reason why it shouldn't be F1.

I don't think there is need for a lawsuit in this case and I agree that Bianchi made a mistake, but I don't see being being close-minded about safety as an acceptable direction either."

Rating: Positive (1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

12. Posted by TokyoAussie, 02/06/2016 3:57

"If this lawsuit is truly all about safety, as claimed by some, then go ahead with the lawsuit on the condition that no monetary compensation will be sought.

I won't hold my breath waiting."

Rating: Positive (2)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

13. Posted by The Canadian, 01/06/2016 22:33

"@rgsuspsa Exactly. "

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

14. Posted by rgsuspsa, 01/06/2016 20:36

"Analogy and rationalization from a man with a university PHD. Quite simply the least meritorious example of rationalization that Mike Lawrence has published on Pitpass. The piece would not withstand critique by a freshman student in logic."

Rating: Negative (-3)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

15. Posted by The Canadian, 01/06/2016 19:42 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 01/06/2016 21:02)

"This comment was removed by an administrator as it was judged to have broken the site's posting rules and etiquette."

Rating: Neutral (0)

Share this page

X

Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2024. All rights reserved.

about us  |  advertise  |  contact  |  privacy & security  |  rss  |  terms