In the round-up: Nico Hulkenberg believes a gust of wind led to his practice crash yesterday.
In brief
Hulkenberg crash “definitely a wind gust”
Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg explained that his practice-ending crash at Tarzan yesterday was down to a sudden gust of wind catching him out.
“Just a very unexpected, very sudden rear locking event, that I didn’t foresee,” he explained. “I didn’t expect the way that it happened.
“I think it was definitely a wind gust that kind of caught me out. I had a little bit of more brake pressure than before, I didn’t break later. So it’s just on the edge I guess, and then two or three unlucky circumstances just tipped it over the edge and made it look quite dramatic.
“Luckily, not a big impact. Not a lot of damage – next to none. But obviously the lost time is the price that we pay. It’s far from ideal, but it is the way it is now. We have to suck it up and make the most from it from here.”
Sauber and Williams fined for unsafe releases
Sauber and Williams both received fines of €5,000 (£4,238) after the Dutch Grand Prix stewards deemed both teams responsible for unsafe pit lane releases in second practice.
Sauber were penalised after Zhou Guanyu was released in front of Daniel Ricciardo late in the session, forcing the RB driver to brake in avoidance. Williams were also handed the same punishment after Alexander Albon was allowed out of his pit box into the path of Lance Stroll, who had to take similar avoiding action to Ricciardo.
Williams sign new junior
Williams have announced they have signed 12-year-old Dutch karting prospect Dean Hoogendoorn as the latest member of their junior driver programme.
The youngest member of the Grove team’s academy, Hoogendoorn was the 2023 WSJ Euro OK-N Junior Champion and is currently competing at the OK Junior level.
“When I was four years old and drove for the first time in a go-kart, I knew one thing, I wanted to be a World Champion,” he said. “This is what I live for and dream of and I work hard every day towards my goal.
“Racing is my passion and to become a part of the Williams family is a very proud moment for me. I will contribute whatever I can to the team and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”
Pulling sets F1A pace
Alpine junior driver Abbi Pulling was quickest in both of Friday’s F1 Academy practice sessions ahead of today’s qualifying and opening race of the weekend at Zandvoort.
Championship leader…
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