The father of the late Formula One driver Jules Bianchi strongly criticised an incident that saw Pierre Gasly nearly collide with a tractor during Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

The race in torrential conditions saw a number of first-lap crashes, with the safety car coming in almost immediately.

And after the race was red-flagged on lap three, Gasly came close to hitting a tractor that was attempting to recover Carlos Sainz's crashed Ferrari just seconds after drivers were notified of the red flag.

Bianchi was the last F1 driver to suffer a fatal crash, having done so in a similar incident when he hit a recovery vehicle, also at the Japanese Grand Prix.

And Sunday's incident provoked widespread criticism, including from Bianchi's father.

"No respect for the life of the driver," Philippe Bianchi said in an Instagram caption. "No respect for Jules' memory. Incredible."

The event also sparked furious reaction from current drivers, with Gasly himself saying "I could have f****** killed myself" while Red Bull's Sergio Perez called it "the lowest point we've seen in the sport for years."