Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Recommended for you

Mercedes shoots down favouritism speculation between Russell and Antonelli

Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Mercedes shoots down favouritism speculation between Russell and Antonelli

MotoGP Czech GP: Marquez outduels Bagnaia to score back-to-back wins

MotoGP
Czech GP
MotoGP Czech GP: Marquez outduels Bagnaia to score back-to-back wins

What next for Formula 1’s rules?

Feature
Formula 1
What next for Formula 1’s rules?

How a racing novice crept up to speed in a Beetle-engined stalwart

Feature
National
How a racing novice crept up to speed in a Beetle-engined stalwart

Aston Martin's harsh reality was exposed in Monaco and Barcelona

Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya GP
Aston Martin's harsh reality was exposed in Monaco and Barcelona

Supercars Darwin: De Pasquale takes commanding Hidden Valley victory

Supercars
Darwin Triple Crown
Supercars Darwin: De Pasquale takes commanding Hidden Valley victory

Bezzecchi issues apology being hit with Czech GP ban for striking marshal

MotoGP
Czech GP
Bezzecchi issues apology being hit with Czech GP ban for striking marshal

Live: MotoGP Czech Grand Prix as it happens

MotoGP
Czech GP
Live: MotoGP Czech Grand Prix as it happens

Kerb loading led to Sergio Perez's crash in Hungarian GP practice

The wishbone failure on Sergio Perez's Formula 1 car that led to his Hungarian Grand Prix practice crash was caused by repeatedly using the full length of the track's kerbs

The Mexican's Force India was heavily damaged when it hit the barrier before rebounding and rolling after the right-front wheel folded under the front of the car.

The accident was triggered by a failure caused by the high loading experienced at the Hungaroring.

"The failure was due to the fact the loading that it saw is different to any other track on the calendar," Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer told AUTOSPORT.

"The rumble strips here are so long that if you ride on them completely, you get high frequency, a decent aptitude load, that you don't see anywhere else.

"You can still run onto them, but don't stay on them forever. But, we have stiffened them up significantly after testing them back at base."

The design philosophy of the B-spec wishbone is the same as its predecessor but the team had to make new parts for the updated car so that it would fit.

Force India had brought a new floor and front wing to this race, but as there was a quick turnaround between races, the team had no spares and thus Perez was forced to return to the original B-spec car debuted at Silverstone.

The Mexican qualified 13th, just over six tenths adrift of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg who still has the updates, with Szafnauer suggesting the gap would likely have been halved had he had the new parts.

Perez said: "It hasn't been the easiest of weekends so far. I was very optimistic on Friday, before the accident, but what happened has affected us quite a lot.

"We have lost some of the new upgrades that we had brought to the race - parts that were working really well and were making a big difference.

"When we got back out on track this morning, I wasn't particularly happy with the aero balance of the car, which has been quite unpredictable.

"Hopefully looking at the data tonight will help us figure out a way to fix it ahead of the race."

Previous article Sebastian Vettel expects to fight with Red Bull in Hungarian GP
Next article Renault has conquered its F1 reliability woes - Daniel Ricciardo

Top Comments

Latest news