Renault driver Nick Heidfeld says he could not avoid crash with Buemi during German GP – Formula 1
Lotus Renault GP driver Nick Heidfeld has said that he could not avoid his contact with Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi during the German Grand Prix on Sunday, July 24, 2011.
Heidfeld had a collision with Buemi at the braking zone during the 20th lap of the race. The Swiss driver blocked the left hand side of Heidfeld, hitting the Renault car from behind and pushed him into the grass.
The German retired from the Nürburgring race, as his R31 was not able to run more on the grid after the accident.
After a post-race investigation of an accident between Heidfeld and Buemi, the German race stewards confirmed that the Toro Rosso driver was at fault for the contact. The stewards announced that Buemi will have to serve a five-place grid penalty in the next
Hungarian Grand Prix for his contact with Heidfeld.
Buemi finished his race at the 15th place for the team after an accident at the German race circuit.
Heidfeld was penalised for the collision with Force India driver Paul di Resta in the initial laps of the race.
Talking to the reporters, the 34-year-old driver said, “My start wasn't too good. I lost some positions there when I collided with Paul [di Resta]. After that I tried hard to make up some positions. I overtook a couple of cars and came up behind Buemi.”
Heidfeld went on to mention, “But then I was next to him on the right and he just moved over, and there was nowhere to go. I was a bit sandwiched in the second corner, then on the third corner Paul was on the outside and a bit in front of me. I locked up
the front wheels, I tried to avoid him, but just slid into him.”
His teammate Vitaly Petrov started his race from the ninth place and ended up in the tenth spot for Renault.
After a disappointing race weekend in Nürburgring due to Heidfeld’s retirement, Renault are hoping for a better Hungarian Grand Prix, which will be held on July 31, 2011.
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