Nick Heidfeld was naturally aggrieved to register a non-finish at his home Grand Prix on Sunday, with the German having ended his race in the NGK Chicane gravel trap. The incident occurred when the Renault driver was forced off the circuit by Toro Rosso’s Sébastien Buemi.
“I was squeezed at the start and sandwiched in the second corner,” Heidfeld explained of his first-lap collision. “Heading into the third corner, Paul di Resta was on the outside. I locked up my front wheels and tried to avoid him but just slid into him, as there was nowhere to go.
“After that I was trying very hard to make up positions and I overtook some cars before I was behind Sébastien Buemi. He blocked the left-hand side, as he is allowed to do, but when I went to his right hand side he just moved over on me. He must have known I was there. I had a lot more speed than him and was on my way to pass.
“He just didn’t give me any room and pushed me on to the grass and after that there was nothing I could do. It was an accident which couldn’t be avoided. It’s never nice being up in the air in one of these cars and it could have been dangerous.”
After the race, FIA stewards deemed that Buemi was to blame, handing the Swiss a five-place grid drop for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Heidfeld-Buemi collision can be viewed at GPUpdate TV
Further post-race feelings from Renault:
Petrov regrets not pitting earlier
See also:
- Buemi: Heidfeld drove into me
- Buemi handed five-place grid drop for Hungary
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Sébastien Buemi
Nick Heidfeld
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:37:30.334 |
| 2. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +3.980 |
| 3. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +9.788 |
| 4. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +47.921 |
| 5. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +52.252 |
| 6. | A. Sutil | Force India | +1:26.208 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +1 Lap |
| 8. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +1 Lap |
| 9. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +1 Lap |
| 10. | V. Petrov | Lotus Renault | +1 Lap |
| Full results | |||
| Nick Heidfeld | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Nick Heidfeld photos | |||
| Sébastien Buemi | |||
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| More Sébastien Buemi photos | |||
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