Impul driver Sekiguchi was one of three drivers eliminated from the race in the crash that was triggered by the side-by-side battle between Tomoki Nojiri and Liam Lawson through Turns 1 and 2 after the start.
Lawson lost control of his Team Mugen machine on the kerbs, having attempted to pass Nojiri around the outside, and spun before being collected by both Sekiguchi and Tadasuke Makino, both of whom were sent airborne.
While Makino had to be airlifted to hospital, albeit being cleared of serious injury, Sekiguchi was able to exit the cockpit unaided despite landing upside down against the guardrails on the right-hand side of the track.
Speaking to media post-race, the Impul driver expressed his gratitude to the halo cockpit protection device, standard in Super Formula since 2019, for allowing him to emerge unscathed.
"When the Red Bull car [of Lawson] spun and came back on the track, it came right into my path," recalled Sekiguchi, who had started fifth.
"I tried to swerve and slow down, but the car went the opposite way to what I had predicted. When I tried to slow down, I was hit from behind [by Makino], and I hit the Red Bull car.
"I hit my head, but it felt like the halo protected me. Looking at the car now, the halo has a lot of damage. Without it, it might have been a dangerous situation.
"I was able to get out of the car through sheer adrenaline, but it's already been a couple of hours, so it's probably fine, but I'll sleep on it tonight and see how I feel in the morning."
The other driver involved in the first-lap crash was Nobuharu Matsushita, who like Sekiguchi was able to walk away from the incident.
Having started much lower down the field in 13th place, the B-Max Racing driver explained he simply lost control after going on to the grass in avoidance of the chaos up ahead.
"I think I was behind [Naoki] Yamamoto, so I couldn’t see ahead clearly," said Matsushita. "I knew one of the Red Bull cars had spun, but I couldn’t see which way it was going.
"I tried going to the right. But everyone else also went right and I ended up on the dirt. I hit the guardrail, and that was it… then I saw Makino’s car fall to the ground.
"I’m glad Tadasuke seems to be ok. I didn’t hit much, so I’m fine."
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