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Hulkenberg admits costly error at Spa an error of judgement

10:45, 28 Aug 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Nico Hulkenberg admitted that the first corner crash at Spa-Francorchamps was down to his error of judgement. The German driver locked his brakes at turn one going into La Source, sliding into the back of Fernando Alonso's McLaren which was sent flying over the top of Charles Leclerc in the Sauber.

The crash earned him a 10-place grid penalty at Monza, to pile even more woe on Renault who had a torrid time in the race at Spa with Carlos Sainz struggling on the power sensitive circuit to an 11th place finish.

“When I hit the brakes, it locked up the front wheels and I slid," Hulkenberg explained to the media after the crash.

“These cars are aerodynamically sensitive, especially with cars bunching up ahead as you lose a lot of grip and load. I have to admit it caught me by surprise.

“It was probably a misjudgement from my side as I was a bit late on the brakes, so it’s frustrating for me, the team, and the other drivers caught up in the incident. That’s racing and unfortunately, these things happen.

“We have Monza next weekend, so I want to get this out of the system as soon as possible and focus on that.”

Renault strategically took power unit penalties for both drivers at Spa in the hopes of a better performance at Monza although any gains would be a bonus due to the high demand of power the circuit shares with Spa-Francorchamps, an element Renault struggled with massively.