Daniil Kvyat has hinted a brake problem could have contributed to the collision he caused at the first corner of the Austrian Grand Prix, taking out Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen in the process.
The Russian driver slid into the back of the McLaren as he locked his wheels into Turn 1, that contact sent the Spaniard into the Red Bull alongside, the second such first lap incident the Dutchman has been involved in this year.
Kvyat was deemed at fault by the FIA and given a time penalty plus two points on his super-licence, but, talking to the official F1 website after the race, claimed there was little he could do.
“I think we need to look into it, because we tried to do our best in terms of brake balance for Turn 1, but I’m not sure it helped,” the Toro Rosso driver said.
“It felt like I locked the rear, then locked the front – and then all four wheels slide and you’re just a passenger.
“Very disappointing of course, [I] just couldn’t avoid the car in front of me. Very upset, but now don’t see any option other than turn the page and move on. I don’t see anything else.”
Whether a mechanical aspect existed or not, Alonso was highly critical of Kvyat’s actions and disappointed to miss out on making the most of his fast start.
“It’s a shame, but it wasn’t in our hands,” the double world champion said. “We did a good start again, we took the benefit from Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen having bad starts so we were already P10 and then I arrived to the first corner and the guys behind arrived too quick.
“I saw someone locking at the rear and in the mirror. They could not stop the car.
“We know that it is tricky from the middle of the pack and at the back. At the first corner of the first lap it’s not necessary to gain this extra metres but the guys behind they need to sometimes prove their seats and their futures, they risk a little bit too much.”
Finally, for Verstappen, the collision was just another example of the poor luck that continues to blight his season. Five times in seven races the Red Bull driver has not seen the finish and he remains bottom of the list of drivers in terms of race laps completed so far in 2017.
It seems the contact may have just been a final blow to his very short race, however, indicating an issue with the clutch caused his initial poor start.
“I already felt on the formation lap that it was not fantastic,” the 19-year-old claimed.
“And in the actual start I got a failure, so I got anti-stall, and then on the run up to Turn 1 it didn’t feel great. I tried to stay out of trouble, to go wide, and I got hit on the rear tyre.”
“Because of that, the clutch over-engaged and it basically broke the bearing in the clutch. So I had no drive anymore.”
To make matters worse the result came at a race that has become a home venue of sorts with a reported 10,000 Dutch fans making the trip to Spielberg.
“Of course I’m very disappointed for the fans,” he said, “they were the best crowd I’ve seen so far and I couldn’t even do a start or one corner for them, never mind 71 laps.”