Sauber team boss Jonathan Wheatley praised Formula 1 safety standards after Gabriel Bortoleto walked away from a huge crash at the end of the sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Bortoleto was attempting to overtake Alex Albon at Turn 1 on the final lap when he lost control as he spun to the inside of the track and hit the concrete wall before being launched at high speed into the barrier on the outside. The crash took place on slick tires in greasy conditions and destroyed most of Bortoleto’s car, but the Brazilian has since been cleared by the medical centre.
“I’ve spoken to the medical center manager and at the moment it sounds like he’s doing absolutely fine, no injuries at all,” Wheatley told F1TV. “I think I have to say first of all the incredible job that the FIA has done in terms of safety, working with the teams, and you’ve just seen it today. In a crash of that magnitude it’s good for the driver to get out, go to the medical center and I’m sure he’ll be ready for qualifying – I’m just not sure about his car.”
Wheatley declined to speculate on the cause of the accident.
“A bit fast [to understand the cause]“We obviously saw it happen and then waited for a replay, but your first thought is to make sure the driver is okay. That’s what I focused on after the session. I’m sure we’ll look into it. To be honest, it looked like one of the biggest crashes I’ve seen for a while, and I’m just glad it was okay, and like I said, the safety standards in Formula 1 are so impressive.”
Wheatley says it is unclear whether Sauber can get a car ready for Bortoleto in time for qualifying, with just three hours between the end of the sprint and the next track session at Interlagos.
“I don’t even know, we haven’t determined that yet,” he said. “Obviously we’re just going to build a new car, there’s no time to mess around with the car we have at the moment. Keep watching this space.
“I think it’s a priority for him to get back in the car and go outside.”
With Nico Hulkenberg also crashing earlier in the sprint, but returning to the race after a red flag, Wheatley believes Sauber can still gain useful insights despite the incidents.
“Nico ended up having to start at the back of the grid – at least we fixed the car and got some more information,” he said. “He did a bit of running, fell back a bit at one point, charged the battery and went for a lap – that gives him a bit more knowledge ahead of qualifying.”
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