James Sutton/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Herta crash hits F2 debut preparations in Melbourne
Colton Herta crashed eight laps into the only practice session at the Australian Grand Prix, hampering his preparations for his Formula 2 debut.
The Cadillac-backed driver was taking part in his first official F2 session during a Formula 1 race weekend when he lost control on the exit of the high-speed Turn 10. The exit curb has claimed many victims in the past and Herta spun long after the exit, with cameras picking him up as he slid to the inside of the track and went backwards into the barrier.
The impact was concentrated to the left-rear corner, with the suspension and wheel assembly heavily damaged, along with the rear wing. However, his Hitech team should be fine to repair the car in time for qualifying at Albert Park later on Friday.
Herta has made the switch from IndyCar – where he boasts a record of nine wins in 118 races – to compete in F2 in order to learn the style of racing on the F1 ladder, as well as grand prix circuits. F2 also offers more Super License points as Herta seeks the required approval to race in F1 in future.
The F2 weekend sees two races across each event, with a Sprint race on Saturday featuring a reverse grid for the top 10 drivers from qualifying, and a longer feature race handing out the same points as an F1 grand prix on Sunday.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
Read Chris Medland's articles
Latest News
Comments
Comments are disabled until you accept Social Networking Cookies. Update cookie preferences
If the dialog doesn't appear, ad-blockers are often the cause; try disabling yours or see our Social Features Support.
