The questions to be asked after Jules Bianchi’s accident in the Japanese GP

Was it safe to stage the Japanese GP on Sunday?
After such a horrendous accident, doubts about whether the Japanese GP should have been held were inevitable. One newspaper has already described the grand prix as 'the race which should never have started'.

But despite dire warnings of torrential rain striking the circuit on Sunday as Typhoon Phanfone bared its teeth, conditions were far from treacherous for the vast bulk of the race. After two exploratory laps behind the Safety Car and a brief red-flag stoppage for the track to continue to dry, the second Safety Car deployment ended with several drivers immediately pitting for intermediate tyres.

Even at the time of Bianchi’s crash, when conditions had begun to deteriorate overhead, the bulk of the field were still using intermediate tyres rather than the full wet-weather compound.

Why wasn’t the race moved forward?
It was reported before the race that the FIA had twice approached the Suzuka race promoters ahead of Sunday’s race 'to offer the opportunity' to move the start forward by a couple of hours. It’s claimed that Honda refused due to fears that supporters wouldn’t be able to travel to the circuit in time for an early commencement.

However, it was still raining heavily 90 minutes before the scheduled time, and, with the typhoon’s reach so wide, there was no clear window of good weather in any of Sunday’s forecasts.

Moreover, the final say over moving the race would have remained with the FIA. As former governing body president Max Mosley told SSNHQ on Monday: “Everything to do with safety is the FIA – even right down to cancelling the race because of the weather and postponing it to the following day. You would be very reluctant to do that but if there was any safety question you would do everything that was necessary."

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Should the Japanese GP be staged in October?
This is a wider matter above and beyond the question of when the race ought to have started on Sunday afternoon. Season after season, the Japanese GP tends to be scheduled in early October or late September, typhoon season in the region. Could a more judicious time in the calendar not be sought? For 2015, the Japanese GP has already been scheduled for 27th September. Nevertheless, it’s important to stress that the staging of Sunday’s race was, by any recognisable definition, safe.

But should the Safety Car have been deployed immediately after Adrian Sutil’s crash?
This is a far more awkward question, but nevertheless one which should be answered with the immediate caveat that Race Control governed Sunday’s race with extreme caution. Although Felipe Massa said afterwards that the second Safety Car deployment should have been extended, it’s important to note that he was speaking from the perspective of a Williams car that handles particularly badly in the rain. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton was pleading with Race Director Charlie Whiting to start the grand prix in earnest for several laps prior to its full commencement.

However, Race Control’s decision not to deploy the Safety Car when, with steady rain starting to fall, Sutil crashed at the Dunlop Curve is already under intense scrutiny. "Everyone knows this is one of the most tricky corners and when i