Ferrari reveals cause of Sebastian Vettel's crash

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Ferrari has identified a wheel rim failure as the cause of Sebastian Vettel's crash on Wednesday at the Circuit de Catalunya.

In the morning session, the German driver lost control of his SF90 on the entry to Turn 3 and plowed straight through the gravel and into the barriers.

Sparks seen at the rear of the car before it left the track pointed to a probable mechanical failure.

Vettel 'wasn't in control' in morning accident

Fortunately, despite the impact, Vettel emerged unscathed but the state of the SF90 required a lengthy investigation by the Scuderia's crew to determine the source of the mishap, and led to a costly delay to Ferrari's testing programme.

The Italian outfit confirmed that the root cause was linked to a rim failure due to an impact with "a foreign object".

"After thorough checks we found that Seb’s off yesterday was due to a (wheel) rim issue," said Ferrari in a statement released on Thursday in Barcelona.

"The rim had been damaged a few seconds before by an impact with a foreign object."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.