Budapest, July 26:
Nico Hulkenberg sufferd a terrible crash while Sergio Perez also retired mid-way into his race as Sahara Force India returned empty-handed from the dramatic Hungarian Grand Prix, here today.
The no-points show meant that the Indian Formula One team could not add to 39 points in its kitty but they remained in the fifth position.
Lotus’ Romain Grosjean finished seventh in his Lotus to earn six points from the race and that reduced Force India’s lead to just four points.
Hulkenberg crahed in lap 42 after a front wing failure while Perez retired in lap 54 after coming to pits.
Hulkenberg lost his front wing on the main straight and impacted at speed with the Turn 1 tyre wall. The German fortunately was unhurt.
The Hungarain GP proved to be a tough one for Force India as Perez had suffered a crash during the opening Free Practice session due to a suspension problem and forced the team to withdraw both the drivers from FP2.
Hulkenberg said that it was a “shame we lost the opportunity to get a great result”.
“I didn’t have much warning that there was a problem with the front wing – there was a harsh vibration just before it broke and after that I was heading straight into the barriers. The final impact was not too bad because that part of the track is well protected and it absorbed the energy nicely,” the German said.
“Up until the accident, things were looking very positive: I had made a great start and was racing with the Red Bulls, which shows the step forward we have made with the b- spec car,” he added.
Sergio Perez said the team has a “lot of reasons to be disappointed about the race”.
“The first few laps were very strong and we made up a lot of positions, but the contact with Pastor [Maldonado] compromised my race. I was as cautious around him as I could be and left him plenty of room but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. After that, getting points was always going to be a challenge and ultimately some brake issues put an end to our race,” the Mexican said.
“Looking at the positives, up until the clash with Pastor the car performed very strongly and this gives me the confidence we can really challenge for good results in the second part of the season.” PTI
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