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Hulkenberg was 'a passenger' during FP2 crash

Published on 09 Nov 2018 21:32
6
By: Fergal Walsh

Nico Hulkenberg says that he was simply a passenger during his crash in the second free practice session in Brazil. The German ran wide onto the grass on the exit of the final corner, taking to the grass which ultimately sent him into the barriers.

The Renault driver took heavy damage to the right side of his car but confirmed after the session that the power unit and gearbox escaped undamaged. Hulkenberg crashed early on in the session, compromising the rest of the day by missing out on his race simulation.

"I ran a bit too wide at the exit of the last corner, took a little bit too much kerb there, wanted a bit too much probably,” Hulkenberg stated. “The car bottomed out, and from there it was done, I was a passenger. Once I bottomed out that really pulled me out of the track and onto the grass.

"Obviously there’s no grip on the grass, and it was inevitable from there that I would hit the wall. It’s a pity and it’s frustrating. Obviously it’s far from ideal to crash on a Friday, it’s not what I want, but unfortunately it happened today.”

Renault appeared to be off the pace of its rivals Haas, who managed to finish both sessions with its two cars inside the top ten. The Enstone squad is currently in fourth place and is 30 points ahead of Haas, who recently lost an appeal on its sixth-place disqualification at Monza.

Hulkenberg believes he now has a difficult weekend ahead of him: "I think we don’t look as competitive as in Mexico and in Austin. A little bit as expected, this track is a bit more challenging for us in the balance that we face,. A challenging weekend ahead."

boudy

Posts: 1,168

Shit happens. Let's see how he gets on tomorrow. Both Renaults were taking that corner very wide.

1
Nov 9 2018 - 23:47

F1 News Renault

Replies (6)

boudy

Posts: 1,168
Shit happens. Let's see how he gets on tomorrow. Both Renaults were taking that corner very wide.
- + 1
- Nov 9 2018 - 23:47
sadosalo

Posts: 198
Nico will recover from this and the car is ready for sure practice # 3 as he is one the nicest guys in F1, modest special compared to Glory narcist # 44
- + 0
- Nov 10 2018 - 05:07
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Mmm, nice guy is debatable. I'd probably rate him about an 8 or 9 on Hammy's diva scale, so about the same level as the likes of Vettel and Hammy. But he is at the very least a very skilled driver.
  + 0
  
  Nov 10 2018 - 17:46
RogerF1

Posts: 501
And that is the unpredictability that these circuits bring, can we have more please!!!!!
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- Nov 10 2018 - 11:07
RogerF1

Posts: 501
Here’s an interesting piece that echoes on points many of us have raised and is relevant to this incident. Glad Hulk is ok
www.telegraph.co.u(...)-two-race-weekends/
- + 0
- Nov 10 2018 - 11:12
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Interesting points, but the vast majority wouldnt help F1. No practice is an example of such a thing. How would having no practice benefit the inexperienced drivers and the teams bringing new upgrades? I also fail to see how 2 race weekends will improve anything. So you have 2 races. That basically doubles the amount of races we have per year, and will only lead to more work for little benefit. It will likely only dillute what we already have. Similarly, how does high risk run offs benefit anyone? It will only take out drivers and more often than not lead to significant increase in costs for the afflicted team.
  + 0
  
  Nov 10 2018 - 17:51