Force India investigating mechanical failures after Hungary incidents
Force India heads toward the summer break with a second investigation on its hands after Nico Hulkenberg lost his front wing in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The wing came adrift of its mountings on the main straight, despite the same spec having run without problem at Silverstone. The wing on Hulkenberg's car was actually a new item and had thus run low mileage.
The issue came after Sergio Perez suffered a rear wishbone failure on Friday, something the team attributed to a frequency set up by the car running over the kerbs. The task of fixing the problems and preparing new parts is however complicated by the summer break.
"We're looking into it and I'm confident and we'll find it and fix it," CEO Otmar Szafnauer told FOXSports.com. "Reliability is one of our strengths, so I think we'll get there quickly.
"The issues could be related; it could have translated into this as well. We need to have a good look, and like I say, we have no worries that we will fix it. The front wing ran at Silverstone, and we had new wings here, so it has to be something track specific."
Meanwhile, Perez failed to see the flag after a collision with Pastor Maldonado compromised his pace. He also had to take a new front wing as a precautionary measure.
"Sergio was having a great race until he overtook Maldonado, who gave him no room. When he spun he did a lot of damage to the floor, so aerodynamically it wasn't optimal. And then we changed his wing for precautionary reasons as well, which meant a long pit stop. Then he started having a long pedal, and we thought if there are any brake issues, we'll bring him in."
Szafnauer agreed that a shot at a podium had been lost: "It was frustrating, because the pace of the car was very promising. We were ahead of (Daniil) Kvyat until that happened, and this is one of Red Bull's stronger tracks, and for us to be able to fight with them bodes well for the future. I think that the package has some promise for Spa. I'm optimistic."
