Twenty years after the death of Ayrton Senna, Formula One has awoken from a sleepless night in Suzuka to face a barrage of questions on Grand Prix safety.

In the wake of Jules Bianchi’s life-threatening accident in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, it was the most intense scrutiny the sport has faced since 1994 when Austrian Roland Ratzenberger and Brazilian Senna lost their lives on successive days at the San Marino Grand Prix.

The questions were clear: why was a motorised safety crane deployed in a dangerous position in torrential rain while the cars continued racing? Why was the race not red-flagged and halted immediately after Adrian Sutil’s initial crash at the place where Bianchi also aquaplaned off the circuit?

And, given the advance forecasts of dreadful weather arriving with Typhoon Phanfone, why was the race schedule not advanced to avoid the storms that made the track so treacherous?

The answers were reluctant and unclear, as drivers, experienced observers and paddock pundits avoided placing the blame exclusively at the door or the organisers.

Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, both three-time champions and men who survived huge accidents, and Max Mosley, former president of the International Motoring Federation (FIA), said the ruling body and race organisers had done all they could and should not be blamed.

Mosley described Bianchi’s crash as a “freak accident” and told Sky Sports News that he “cannot fault any of the people involved”.

He explained that advancing the race start was not a solution because it was unclear precisely when bad weather would arrive.

On Sunday, the race promoters chose to ignore calls to change their schedule and the race finished in a downpour and near-darkness. Many drivers felt an earlier start was the wisest option.

“What’s done is done, but they have to analyse it, look back and if they could have or should have done something then they will know for next time,” said Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull.

“In hindsight, of course it was wrong, but you never know what is going to happen,” Sergio Perez of Force India said.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas joined the call for an explanation of why a recovery vehicle was on circuit in a dangerous place.

“It’s easy to say afterwards, but it’s worth a good look to see if we can learn from it.”