F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Shocked Kubica lost it 'in a very nasty way' in FP2

Williams' Robert Kubica says he was "completely shocked" by his crash in the Brazilian Grand Prix FP2 session, insisting the mishap was caused by standing water on a kerb at the Senna 'S'.

Kubica was looking forward to a productive afternoon after sitting out the morning practice session in which Williams reserve Nicholas Latifi took over his car.

The Pole had just started his first flying lap was exiting Turn 2 when his car suddenly snapped and veered off course into the barriers, Kubica's day done and dusted.

The bewildered Williams driver was initially at a loss to understand why he had lost control, but footage of the accident suggested the most plausible explanation.

"This was my first lap around here, I lost in a very nasty way the car, which I didn’t really understand," Kubica said.

"But after reviewing, the Haas [of Kevin Magnussen] who was in front of me by a few seconds, he went off, over the kerb, and pulled out quite a lot of water.

"You can see when I approached with the front left tyre, I was lifting a lot of water. I was with the hard tyre and lost it completely in a nasty way.

"It’s frustrating because we need a bit of luck, it’s not an easy situation for us.

"I only understood it when I saw the video, otherwise I thought something had broke. But it didn’t break, there was no failure."

Kubica ultimately put the incident down to unfortunate circumstances.

"It is never nice to lose free practice, it’s never nice to crash the car, but I think today was bad luck," Kubica added.

"If I would be closer to him, I would see it. If I was a few seconds later, my engineer would have told me. Unfortunately, this is motorsport.

"I was completely shocked what happened. I was completely unprepared, but it’s difficult to be prepared in such a situation."

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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.

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