Force India reinforces suspension after Perez crash
Sahara Force India have had a busy afternoon and night investigating and resolving the issue that caused Sergio Perez to crash off during the first free practice session at the Hungaroring.
It emerged that a right rear suspension wishbone broke on the VJM08 when Perez ran it over the kerbstones on the exit of turn 11. The consequence was a lot of damage on the car as it got flipped before coming to a stop on the tarmac.
Wary of the mechanical issue, the team immediately withdrew its cars from FP2 to await a fix for the problem. Data was immediately fed back to the factory, where the team found out strengthening of the component may be needed to ensure reliability.
It is however understood that the wishbone is not a new part and has been used at several events already this year, and is of a specification used through most of the season.
Last night, Force India CEO Otmar Szafnauer said the team were making solid progress on the issue and would be able to modify the part in question to be sure there would be no repeat of the issue.
"It looks like a lower wishbone had a buckle," he told Fox Sports. "If that's the case we've got to stiffen it. We'll wrap it with carbon to make it stiffer – we've got the capability here on site, and we'll do the same back at base and test it, and we should be OK for tomorrow.
"We're not 100 percent sure, but we think the rumble strips set up a frequency," he added. "We should be able to go over the curbs, but we'll just be a bit more careful how long we stay on them."
Talking to BBC this morning, he also admitted the time lost in FP2 was indeed somewhat of an issue, but as Nico Hulkenberg immediately proved confident with the car in FP3, it would not pose a major hindrance.
