IndyCar: Was Takuma Sato criticism premature?

Following the five-car wreck in Sunday’s IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway that appeared to be triggered by Takuma Sato, was the criticism toward Sato premature?

On the opening lap of Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, a five-car wreck took place that looked eerily similar to the one that took place on the opening green flag lap of the IndyCar race at the track last year, the wreck that resulted in the paralysis of Robert Wickens from the waist down.

Initial video and replays showed that it was Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato who caused this wreck when he turned a two-wide situation into a three-wide situation heading into turn two of the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Long Pond, Pennsylvania and appeared to turn left into the middle car of Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi.

However, further video posted by Sato and a statement by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have certainly changed this narrative, suggesting that Sato was not completely at fault for this accident occurring.

Here is what this statement said, according to the team’s website.

"“Following the events on Lap 1 of Sunday’s INDYCAR race at Pocono Raceway, we are relieved that all drivers emerged unhurt from the crash. Normally in a situation of this nature it is not necessary for a team to comment but following the accusations levied at Takuma, and after reviewing Takuma’s onboard data and camera, we feel that a clarification is necessary.  The data and video clearly shows that Takuma did not turn down the track into Alexander in this incident and in fact the first steering wheel movement made by Takuma was to the right, as he tried to correct his car after the initial contact.“This sort of accident is part and parcel of this type of racing and with track position being vital at every stage of each race is, in our view, a part of the sport.  It’s a racing incident and we as a team wish to publicly state that we stand behind our drivers and have absolute faith in their ability to race and perform at the highest level for RLL.“This was a racing incident which unfortunately may have some championship implications. A crash at Pocono impacted our title aspirations in 2015 while second in the standings so we know the frustration drivers and teams experienced.  As always, we are thankful for the quick response of the AMR Safety Team."

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing shared footage from Sato’s on-board camera, footage that is typically only available for the teams, when making their statement. This was footage that Sato himself had previously shared on his Twitter page in an attempt to defend himself against those pinning this wreck solely on him.

Here is the part of the footage during which the wreck takes place.

With all things considered, was the criticism directed at Sato premature?

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In some ways, yes. In other ways, no.

Sato has been known for his overaggressive driving style, and it has resulted in many crashes throughout his career. In that light, the criticism directed at him was premature because, quite simply, he only received it because he was an easy target.

However, Sato himself stated after the incident that he “thought he was clear”. To anyone with any knowledge of IndyCar, that is practically a dead giveaway that he made a stupid move.

He then proceeded to take to Twitter to say that it was Rossi’s fault.

As you can see from the first tweet above (his second tweet), he stated that he really wasn’t blaming Rossi, but that’s what it boiled down to. He effectively made the situation worse than it already was on his own.

In that light, the criticism was not premature. But at the same time, can you blame him? With knee-jerk reactions all across the board, he felt he had to respond, which was only natural for someone under attack from the entirety of the fanbase of America’s premier open-wheel racing series.

As you can see from Sato’s video, his movement to the left was nowhere near as abrupt as it originally appeared.

That said, would the wreck have happened had he not arrived on the scene to make it three-wide?

No.

As you can see below, Rossi held his line.

Ryan Hunter-Reay did move up the track, but he had room to do so and there was no contact that resulted from that movement. The crash did not happen until after he had already done so.

There’s a saying that the third one in should be the first one out. Because Sato was the third one in but not the first one out, five ended up out with one in the fence. In that light, the criticism was not premature.

But he didn’t come in like a wild man like it originally appeared, so in that light, the criticism was premature.

Let’s also not forget that even if he did trigger this wreck, this wreck was arguably one of the most traumatic experiences that he has ever dealt with in not only his racing career but in his life. To be met with criticism directly after the fact probably wasn’t what the 42-year-old Japanese driver needed.

Whether or not Takuma Sato is to blame for causing the five-car wreck in Sunday’s IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway remains up for debate but is really immaterial since it will literally never be anything more than debatable. It’s time to move on.

Yes, he played a big part in it, and there are still certainly aspects of the criticism he received that hold water, but as a whole, it was simply premature and unjustified by all of the evidence once that evidence was brought forth.