IndyCar: Is a fine enough for Takuma Sato?

After triggering a horrifying wreck on the opening lap of the IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway, does Takuma Sato deserve to be penalized with more than just a post-race fine?

It happened again.

On the first green flag lap of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, a rookie driver ended up in the turn two fence of the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Long Pond, Pennsylvania as a result of a five-car wreck for the second consecutive IndyCar season.

Fortunately, this year’s wreck produced a different result, aside of the fact that three drivers were involved in the wreck last year and then again this year. It didn’t result in the rookie driver’s car going completely above the wall and being sent into a spin cycle by the catch fence, and most importantly, it didn’t result in that driver being paralyzed from the waist down.

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But what was also different about this year’s wreck is how it started.

Last year, Robert Wickens was too late pulling out of a pass attempt on Ryan Hunter-Reay heading into turn two, and the cars of the two drivers collided, sending Wickens into the catch fence.

And let’s be honest; while this could certainly be pinned on driver error, last year was the first year with the new UAK18 aero kit, and there was hardly any practice time ahead of the race at the second fastest track on the schedule. To add, Wickens had never previously competed at Pocono Raceway. It’s not like he tried to pull a ridiculous stunt-like move.

This year, however, veteran Takuma Sato drove slightly left into Alexander Rossi, who then hit Hunter-Reay, on the straightaway between turns one and two, and mayhem ensued as the field approached them.

It was announced during the race that a fine would likely be headed Sato’s way for causing this accident. But is a fine enough for the Honda-backed driver who took out five contending Honda cars in one dangerous move?

Sato is known for his somewhat reckless driving style and has caused far more than his share of unnecessary wrecks in his career, most recently at Texas Motor Speedway when he tried to make a pit stop and ended up hitting a member of his pit crew.

The only thing that would truly be “enough” is him losing his ride, but he obviously doesn’t deserve that kind of penalty at this point; it’s not like he meant to cause this mayhem.

But a fine?

For driver safety to remain at the forefront of IndyCar, Sato should be suspended, even if for only one race, and if IndyCar does not suspend him, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing should sit him down for one race.

There has been a lot of recent talk about whether or not Pocono Raceway is safe for IndyCar to compete at, and there has been even more talk about the introduction of the Aeroscreen cockpit protection device ahead of the 2020 season.

IndyCar clearly emphasizes safety over everything.

So a slap on the wrist for a driver who caused such a massive wreck that thankfully did not result in any major injuries once year after a similar looking wreck did would be a stain on that record.

Additionally, Sato refused to admit the fact that he triggered this wreck. All he apologized for was the fact that his move had championship implications because he took out Rossi. At first, he seemed to blame Rossi for the wreck.

He then stated that he didn’t mean to blame Rossi for this incident, but he still refused to own it.

To give him the benefit of the doubt that he deserves after facing major backlash on social media, much of which not totally justified, since this wreck, this replay does make his movement to the left look less abrupt than it initially looked.

However, comparing his hand movement to Rossi’s from other replays, this one is still clearly on him. Even if he didn’t basically drive himself into the wreck like the initial replays illustrated, his arrival on the scene triggered it.

If a fine ends up being his only punishment, should we really expect anything different from a driver whose motto is “No Attack, No Chance”?

Of course, like I said, we may not be able to expect anything different from him no matter what kind of punishment is handed down, especially since he won an Indianapolis 500 only two years ago by making full use of that motto, but IndyCar and/or Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing need to take a stand to show that there are limits to “No Attack, No Chance”.

What happened at Pocono Raceway this past Sunday proves that he overstepped those limits in a big way. While he was not at fault to the extent that many fans initially thought, this was still a completely unnecessary and avoidable accident.

Should Takuma Sato be given more than just a fine for causing the horrifying accident that took out five of the top 10 starting cars in the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway this past Sunday? Should he have to sit out at least one IndyCar race?