F1 star handed warning for dangerous driving after going wrong way

F1 preview: A lap of the Miami Grand Prix

F1 race stewards handed out a warning to Nyck de Vries after the Dutchman was seen driving the wrong way in Miami. De Vries had lost control of his AlphaTauri and spun around at turn 12 as he pushed the limits on Friday.

However, the former Formula E champion was unable to find enough room to spin back around due to the tight walls on either side of the corner. Instead, De Vries drove from turn 12 back to turn 11 against oncoming traffic.

He eventually found a section of track with a run-off zone to allow him to get the car pointing in the right direction. But, the incident was not looked on favourably by stewards who immediately “noted” the move for dangerous driving.

After analysing the footage more closely, no further action was taken and De Vries was not penalised. On Friday evening, De Vries appeared to blame the hair-raising moment on a lack of grip.

READ MORE
Sky Sports F1 commentator apologises to Leclerc over Miami GP remarks[]

He commented: “It’s a new track for me and grip levels are extremely low, so you get quicker with each lap that you do. Even though the temperature is quite high, tyre warm-up seems to be a challenge because they need a long time before they perform.

However, in a further blow to the 28-year-old, the spin caused some damage to the rear end and he was forced to pit. The team later confirmed they were forced into swapping the gearbox between sessions.

Although he was able to get back on track for FP2, the mistake cost him valuable track running at a circuit De Vries has never competed at. Chief race engineer Jonathan Eddolls explained: “It hasn’t been such a straightforward Friday for us today. Both drivers have been struggling with overall grip and find it hard to extract the lap times.

DON’T MISS
F1 drivers ‘not happy’ as FIA chief shot down at Miami Grand Prix[LATEST]
Leclerc’s crash causes Miami qualifying chaos with Verstappen in ninth[ANALYSIS]
Elon Musk holds talks over new F1 event during visit to Miami GP[COMMENT]

“This morning Nyck had a small spin in the twisty section of Turn 11 and Turn 12 and just touched the wall with the rear end of the car, but the damage was enough to have to stop the session and swap the gearbox for FP2.

“The mechanics did a great job to turn the car around, and having missed out on running the Soft compound in FP1, it left him with two sets for FP2.” De Vries bounced back on Saturday and managed to get the better of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying.

Source: Read Full Article