F1 director Whiting backs safety procedures in Japan GP despite 'horrific' Bianchi crash

Formula One's influential race director Charlie Whiting has expressed his confidence in the safety procedures of the Japanese Grand Prix after Marussia driver Jules Bianchi suffered a series accident on the Suzuka track on Sunday.

The sport is once again under extensive scrutiny in the wake of its most serious accident since legend Ayrton Senna's death 20 years ago.

But Whiting, while speaking in the wake of Bianchi's 150 miles-per-hour horror smash on Sunday, said that he has supreme confidence in the marshals at Suzuka, adding that they are among the best in the world, The Mirror reported.

The crash has left 25-year-old Bianchi in intensive care in a nearby hospital fighting for his life. His mother Christine and father Phillipe arrived on Monday to be at their son's bedside at Mei General Hospital, where he is said to still need a respirator to aid breathing.

In the wake of the most serious smash in 20 years, the worst since Ayrton Senna's death in 1994, the sport is expected to launch its usual exhaustive investigation once they arrive in Sochi.

The Frenchman skidded off and reportedly 'submarined' under the rear of a crane, ripping off the safety roll-over bar designed to take at least three tons of force, the report added.