Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Haas Formula 1 boss Guenther Steiner reveals that high brake temperatures led to a rear suspension failure, resulting in Kevin Magnussen suddenly crashing out at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Magnussen was running out of the points before his crash (Image Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)Out of nowhere, the Dane crashed out of the Mexico City Grand Prix on lap 32. The cause was suspected to be a left rear track rod failure, whilst the car was under load in the fast right-hander at Turn 8.
Due to the severity of the crash, a red flag was brought out. The high-speed crash led to major damage to the barriers.
Magnussen was able to climb out of the car unassisted. He was taken to the medical centre – where he was cleared.
Heading into the Mexico City Grand Prix, teams and drivers were well aware of the high altitude levels, leading to thin air.
The high altitude levels make it more difficult for the cars to run. Examples of limitations are a loss of downforce and overheating in several areas. That is the reason for many drivers veering off the racing line to cool their car.
Brakes overheating
With many components naturally overheating in Mexico due to its environment, it can always be on the limit. In Magnussen’s case, the brakes went over the limit.
The 31-year-old was defending significantly from Logan Sargeant and was moving his brake bias toward the rear to prevent front lock-ups.
A few corners before the crash happened, Magnussen’s engineer told him that he needed to get his brake temperatures under control.
After the crash, the Dane’s VF-23 was producing flames around the left rear of the dismantled Haas.
Steiner spoke to Motorsport.com, revealing that the crash was caused by the heat from the brakes:
“It was a heat issue which caused a suspension failure. It was heat from the brakes.
“Kevin was defending, and it tipped over. It was just because of the high temperatures here. We just need to manage it better. Nico’s car was OK.”
Magnussen was defending hard from Sargeant (Image Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)Bad day for the constructors’ championship
Magnussen reported to his team – seconds before the crash – that the rear left had “completely gone”.
“I’m feeling okay,” he said. “The suspension gave up. The rear left specifically lost a lot of grip a couple of laps before that, I suddenly lost a lot of grip on that, and then it gave up after.
“I think it was going alright. At the beginning of the race, it was better, and then suddenly I fell off more than the others. And then the suspension gave up.
“So I don’t know if it’s related. Maybe there’s something there, but I need to go and talk to the guys.”
Despite Nico Hulkenberg’s best efforts to hold on to P10, Haas left Mexico with zero points, capping off another disappointing weekend.
With rival teams finishing inside the top 10, the American team fell to the rock bottom in the constructors’ championship.
AlphaTauri secured six points through an impressive performance by Daniel Ricciardo. It could have been more without Yuki Tsunoda’s incident with Oscar Piastri.
Williams also managed to secure four points through Alex Albon’s ninth place finish.
Haas now find themselves four points away from eighth, which is equalled by AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo.
Feature Image Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli via Getty Images
