Mechanical failure causes F1 wheel loss

The accident happened when the team’s Swiss driver applied the brakes at the end of the back main straight while travelling at 190mph (306kph) on the Shanghai International circuit.

The upright, which connects to the wheel, broke on the front right side of the car and the front left upright buckled shortly after. Buemi subsequently veered off the track and into the gravel while one wheel hurtled over the safety fence.

He said: ‘There’s not much to say about what happened in FP1. I braked, the wheels came off and that was it.

‘Physically, I was fine though. But I have to say, I am extremely disappointed that, once again, through no fault of my own, I have been unable to run for almost all of the three hours available.’

Typically, the front upright in an F1 car is made of a metal matrix composite consisting of 25 per cent silicon carbide ceramic and 75 per cent aluminium. The material allows the component to be very light, but also makes it very stiff.