F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Wehrlein: Haryanto collision in German GP just racing

Pascal Wehrlein says he has no problem with team-mate Rio Haryanto’s attempt to overtake him which resulted in contact in the German Grand Prix.

Attacking the lead Manor early in the race, Haryanto made an attempt to pass on the inside of Turn 6 from a long way back but Wehrlein turned in and the Indonesian driver hit the right rear of his team-mate’s car. Asked about the incident after finishing in 17th place, Wehrlein said he was unconcerned as it didn’t impact on the rest of his race.

“Nothing happened, I turned in, he touched my wheel I think and that’s it,” Wehrlein said. “I think it wasn’t on purpose, so… As long as nothing happens I’m OK with that. For sure it could have gone wrong and then it’s a different story but nothing happened to my car, I had a damaged front wing as well, but it’s racing.”

Haryanto suffered front wing damage in the incident which dropped him back in the fight against the Saubers and he says the collision could have been much worse had he not tried to take avoiding action.

Asked what happened, Haryanto replied: “Well I saw that he was struggling in the beginning of the race and I thought I was coming quicker so I decided to make a move into Turn 6.

“I had DRS on and when I went to the inside suddenly I saw he was turning into Turn 6 and I had nowhere to go. I had to really slow down the car to avoid the accident and unfortunately I just clipped my front wing on his right rear tyre.

“I think we would have been much higher up for sure. Perhaps I would have been in the mix again with Pascal until the end of the race. With the front wing I would say it cost quite a lot of time and with the strategy as well I had to stop quite early and that compromised not just the front wing change but also the next few stints.”

However, Haryanto would not be drawn on who he felt was to blame for the contact.

“I think I was on the inside and I don’t know if Pascal saw me on the inside of him. He turned and I didn’t want to take him out so I decided to brake as hard as I could and of course when you do that you will lock up the front wheel and unfortunately I clipped my front wing against his right rear tyre.”

2016 German Grand Prix - Driver ratings

REPORT: Hamilton beats Red Bulls to extend championship lead

Breakfast with ... Christian Danner

Exclusive Alex Wurz Q&A: GPDA chairman "surprised" by Halo delay

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Leclerc confident Ferrari ‘has a shot’ at F1 Constructors’ title

Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has a genuine “shot” at beating rival McLaren to Formula…

1 hour ago

Komatsu: F1 teams united against Audi 2026 cost-cap offset

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that nine Formula 1 teams stand in opposition…

2 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

3 hours ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the United…

4 hours ago

Aston Martin says performance shortfall led to Fallows exit

Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed some light on why the team’s former…

13 hours ago

FIA clamps down on plank loophole after Red Bull complaint

The FIA has issued a pivotal Technical Directive to F1 teams ahead of this weekend’s…

14 hours ago