Jules Bianchi was driving too fast when he spun out of control and crashed at the Japanese Grand Prix, an FIA report into the accident published Wednesday suggests.
Marussia's 25-year-old French driver collided with a recovery vehicle on lap 43 of the rain-drenched Suzuka track on October 5.
The mobile crane was removing Adrian Sutil's stricken Sauber car at the time.
One of the conclusions of the 10-man FIA review panel's 356-page report was that "Bianchi did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control at the same point on the track as Sutil".
The report, compiled by among others former team boss Ross Brawn and ex-champion Emerson Fitipaldi, found that a series of key incidents likely contributed to Bianchi hitting the crane at 126kph.
These included: surface water reducing the racing line at Turn 7; the process of removing Sutil's car; Bianchi's speed and over-steering.
On the point of impact, the report stated: "Bianchi’s helmet struck the sloping underside of the crane.
"The magnitude of the blow and the glancing nature of it caused massive head deceleration and angular acceleration, leading to his severe injuries."
After being brought out of an artificial coma Bianchi arrived back in France last month, and is being treated at a hospital in Nice.
His condition was described as "critical but stable" in the last medical update.
The review panel praised medical assistance at Suzuka.
"All rescue and medical procedures were followed, and their expediency are considered to have contributed significantly to the saving of Bianchi’s life."
The report also stated that "if drivers adhere to the requirements of double yellow flags...then neither competitors nor officials should be put in immediate or physical danger".
One new safety measure already approved by the FIA for next season is the virtual safety car system trialled in the final three races.
This forces drivers to automatically slow down if ordered by the race stewards in the event of a section of the circuit being deemed dangerous due to an accident.
Source: AFP