Lotus Renault GP's Nick Heidfeld made a dramatic retirement from this afternoon’s rain-hit Hungarian Grand Prix, pulling off the circuit with a large fire on Lap 25. Flames engulfed his R31 after making a planned visit to the pit lane, leading the German to jump out of his stricken car just moments before a small explosion in the left sidepod.
"We wanted to stop early because we were quicker than the cars ahead," Heidfeld told reporters after his premature retirement. "The pit-stop took longer than it should have and that’s probably why something overheated.
"I was a bit (scared), this one got quite close whereas with the fire I had in Barcelona I didn’t feel any heat. There was a small explosion on the left, I’ve never seen anything like that before."
- The Renault fire can be viewed at GPUpdate TV
Further development:
Heidfeld’s fire caused by overheating exhausts
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Button | McLaren | 1:46:42.337 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +3.588 |
| 3. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +19.819 |
| 4. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +48.338 |
| 5. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +49.742 |
| 6. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +83.176 |
| 7. | P. di Resta | Force India | +1 Lap |
| 8. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | +1 Lap |
| 9. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +1 Lap |
| 10. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | +1 Lap |
| Full results | |||
| Nick Heidfeld | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Nick Heidfeld photos | |||
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