Pirelli Motorsport has revealed the details of the crash of Daniil Kvyat from F1 British GP as Pierre Gasly says Dr. Helmut Marko is happy with his results.
Initially, Kvyat took blame for the F1 British GP crash last weekend but by post-race, it was understood that something had failed as rear puncture was seen in videos. The tyre was sent to Milan by Pirelli for extra checks which is now complete.
As per the statement from Pirelli, they state that the tyre wasn’t which caused the incident, even though it played a role in it. They had that a separate mechanical issue inside the wheel rim led to the bead of tyre to fail and lead to the crash.
The clarification from Pirelli stated: “Together with Scuderia AlphaTauri, Pirelli has concluded an investigation into the precise cause of the incident that resulted in Daniil Kvyat hitting the wall during the British Grand Prix on lap 12.
“A separate mechanical issue led to the inside of the right-rear wheel rim overheating, which in turn burned the bead of the tyre (the part of the tyre that connects the rubber to the wheel). As a result, the bead was no longer able to seal the tyre onto the rim.
“This is what caused the subsequent deflation, with the tyre itself playing no part in the cause of the accident.” While Pirelli has revealed the details, when speaking to media, Kvyat did not have anything on the table as he talked about his initial thoughts.
“Looking back at it, there was nothing really for me to do to avoid crash, but I had the problem on my gearbox, and I was doing a lot of switches at that moment,” said Kvyat. “I was doing all lap, all two or three laps until then I was doing so many changes.
“In that moment I was looking on the screen when the tyre gave up when there was a puncture. And so, I didn’t really understand what happened. It was so weird and confusing incident, and it never happened before in my career that the tire would give up in such a high speed corner.
“The first thing I thought maybe there was some kind of kerb or grass I didn’t know, but of course looking back at it, there was absolutely nothing I could have done. Luckily I hit the tyre barriers, not the solid wall, because I think few meters and I have hit the solid wall.
“So that was also good to remind for me. In general, when I drive in alone, it feels slow, but when the walls come at you at that speed and you remember that we are actually traveling at a very, very high speed,” summed up Kvyat. The crash has forced the organisers to add an extra barrier in the corner and also alter the kerbs at various corners to cut down on the cuts on the Pirelli rubber.
While the Russian is yet to catch a break in 2020 F1 season, teammate Gasly has had two points finishes and some solid drives, whether in qualifying and or the race. His chances at Red Bull Racing is slim but the Frenchman is still looking at the seat, especially with Alexander Albon having a bit of mixed run.
Gasly is upbeat as he reveals that Marko is happy with his performance. “It feels to me more like, we finished the year last year with a Toro Rosso quite strongly, and not just talking about Brazil, but most of the races – Singapore, Suzuka, Mexico – I mean we had some really strong results and it was important to keep that momentum coming into 2020, and I just felt like that’s what we did,” he said.
“Pretty much every weekend we manage to extract the full potential from the car. Even if we start on Friday not really happy. I’m really happy with the job we’ve done with the team and especially on their side because every session it feels like we’re making a step forward, and things are improving all the time. I don’t feel I’ve done a massive changes.
“But obviously the relationship with the team, working with my race engineer, my second engineer. We started in Spa last year and we have a bit more races together, so I feel like the understanding is really good, and I’m really happy with how things are going. Obviously, Helmut is really happy about the results and the performances, whether in qualifying or the races, but at the end of the day it’s not my call.
“The only thing I can do for myself, which is the only thing I’m focused on, is just performing every weekend and try to grab every opportunities that come at me, and that’s the only target. I’ve always believed, as long as you put strong performances, sooner or later opportunities will come. And, I mean, only the future will tell, but at the moment I’m just focusing on my job and trying to deliver the best of myself,” summed up Gasly.
Here’s Pirelli on testing the 2021 tyres at Silverstone
Here’s on Pirelli analysis from British GP tyre issues
Here’s all about the tyre dramas in British GP
Here’s Pierre Gasly on British GP fight
Here’s what AlphaTauri said regarding Daniil Kvyat