The safety car was called after Carlos Sainz lost control and crashed on the first lap, and the crane – and at least one marshal – were on the circuit when the safety car led the field into the lap next, before a red flag before the end of that round.
The presence of the crane only became apparent to the world after Pierre Gasly, who was looking for a new nose and trying to catch the queue, passed by the crane.
The video onboard his AlphaTauri, along with his angry reaction on the radio, quickly began circulating on social media during the red flag break.
“In all conditions who should never see a crane in the lane while the cars are out there,” Perez said. “You don’t really know what can happen there.
“It does not matter [about] conditions; this should never happen and i really hope this is the last time we see in any category recovery vehicles on the track while there are cars there.
“I think the first time, when we were in the laps of the grid, the track looked good, even for the intermediates, but I think it picked up before the start of the race and more importantly, I think, during the first round, it even took over Suite.
“So yeah, I think in that respect it was right to stop the race, to start the race at the times we did, but what’s really low and that’s the lowest thing that I’ve seen for years, that’s two crane vehicles over there.”
Meanwhile, several drivers said they couldn’t see the crane even when driving slowly behind the safety car.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB18
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
For some checking their phones during the red flag break, it was the first time they realized they had passed by the crane, prompting a series of WhatsApp communications between them.
Their confessions give an indication of the poor visibility at the time, especially for those racing further down the peloton, putting further spotlight on the decision to send the vehicle to a live track in such conditions.
Fernando Alonso, who was racing in sixth place, admitted he hadn’t seen either the crane or Sainz’s wrecked car on the previous lap.
“I still don’t know where Carlos was,” he said when asked about visibility by Autosport.
“I didn’t see the tractor either. There is no visibility. Behind the safety car I didn’t see the tractor and I didn’t see Carlos, so obviously that’s the low point of the race. We have to understand this.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was eighth in line, was another who didn’t see the crane.
“I mean I saw it after the fact,” he admitted. “But I didn’t even see him. I saw replays when I walked into the club, and I was like, ‘Ah, maybe I think I saw it, but no, even that, you’re having trouble seeing.’
Others who admitted they hadn’t seen the crane include Lance Stroll and Zhou Guanyu.
