"It’s just worthless"- Carlos Sainz fires shots at FIA over 'tractor' misfortune at 2022 F1 Japanese GP

Carlos Sainz has called out the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for a very unfortunate incident that could have seen Pierre Gasly injure himself seriously. The French driver came into very close contact with a recovery tractor that was retrieving Carlos Sainz's Ferrari.

The Spaniard crashed out of the race on Lap 1 in the run-up to the Spoon curve. The race was red-flagged moments later with only three laps concluded. Sainz, like many others, was furious to find out that the tractor was sent out during the race and told the media in a post-race interview:

"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?"

Many are of the opinion that the FIA should have waited for every car to make it to the pit lane first, and then brought out a recovery tractor. Moreover, with terrible visibility, Gasly could've actually crashed into the vehicle.

This incident reminded many of the Jules Bianchi accident at the same Suzuka track in 2014. Back then, the French driver ran into a recovery crane during the race, tending to Adrian Sutil's crashed Sauber. The driver later lost his life after spending almost nine months in a coma.

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The FIA releases explanation in Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly and tractor incident amidst heavy backlash

The FIA picked up immediate heavy criticism from the likes of drivers like Carlos Sainz, commentators, and fans all over the world post the recovery tractor incident. The association was trending everywhere and felt the need to explain the incident.

The FIA released a statement saying:

“In relation to the recovery of the incident on Lap 3, the Safety Car had been deployed and the race neutralised. Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the Safety Car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field. As conditions were deteriorating, the Red Flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap.”

While the outcome of the situation will only come out after the race, fans were thankful that Pierre Gasly was not harmed in anyway.