Tragic Accidents Mar Vettel’s 12th Win

Qualifying:

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* 10-place grid penalty for engine/gearbox change

Report:

It must be said that motorsport was dangerous and, despite all safety developments, is dangerous now and possibly forever will be in the future. Today, Formula One was served a depressing reminder of that reality, as Robert Kubica suffered severe spinal injuries in an accident on the opening lap of this Grand Prix. He will be out of the car for a few months, leaving Haas to recover, as he failed to get away unharmed like he did in Montréal.

The cruel irony of this incident is that the former world champion, who won his sole F1 World Driver’s Championship at Ferrari, was victim of a ruthless battle between the two Ferrari drivers, which saw Bourdais forced onto the grass by McKane. The French driver returned to the black stuff quickly and got in the way of the black car, which launched itself at over 320 km/h, evoking nasty memories of Kamui Kobayashi’s incident at Detroit in 2010.

He was not the only one suffering injuries: Pastor Maldonado has suffered an ankle injury, not too unsimilar to the one suffered by Nyck de Vries earlier this year. With the next race being less than a week away, he will most certainly be ordered to miss that one by the doctors. His injury was the result of a 50-50 collision with the Valerian of Davide Valsecchi, who also retired in the incident but was unharmed.

Admist all this tragedy, it was easy to forget that Sebastian Vettel had a chance of tying the Formula 1 all-time record for most wins in a season. He did so in masterful fashion, controlling the race from start to finish, the grand chelem denied only by early pitstops of the Caterham effort. Obviously, he will be looking forward to taking his 13th win in a more happy environment.

Race:

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Fastest Lap:

Sebastian Vettel – 1:21.022

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Jules Bianchi – Coming back to score big after starting 22nd is good for his career.

Reject Of The Race:

Williams-Peugeot – There simply is no excuse for their behaviour.