F1: Scary Suspension Failure For Buemi

Formula 1

F1: Scary Suspension Failure For Buemi

Both wheels came flying off Sebastien Buemi's machine during first practice in Shanghai...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted April 15, 2010 Shanghai (CHN)

Sebastien Buemi suffered a sudden and catastrophic double suspension failure under heavy braking, both front wheels sheared off the car and he was pitched into the barrier and gravel trap at high speed. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi had a bizarre accident in first practice in Shanghai when he lost both front wheels at the end of the straight.

The Swiss driver had just got on the brakes when something appeared to fail or come loose in the front suspension, leading to a catastrophic failure that shattered the wishbones and sent both wheels flying off. The forces involved were meant that the tethers failed to restrain them.

Buemi slid sideways and clipped the barrier before coming to a halt in the gravel, fortunately without any injury. The wheels continued on a full speed, and worryingly one cleared the fence and landed in a public area. TV pictures appeared to show a fan making away with it.

The STR team is now investigating the cause of the incident.

Adam Cooper notched up his 25th season as a racing journalist in 2009. Born in London, England, he saw his first F1 race at age 10 in 1976. He began freelancing for Autosport magazine in 1985 and was on the fulltime staff from 1987-92. He then went freelance again, initially spending two years in Japan before following the 1994 Champcar series from a base in Indianapolis. He has not missed a Grand Prix since Suzuka ‘94, a run that has extended to Abu Dhabi ’09. Adam has written books about Eddie Irvine, Piers Courage and Michael Schumacher and hosts a race preview show on Sirius XM. He has written about F1 for SPEEDtv.com since 2005. Check out Adam's Blog or follow him on Twitter

Watch The Chinese Grand Prix LIVE Sunday at 2:30 am. Eastern on SPEED

F1 RaceCast Online Now! Follow Formula One live online timing & scoring, practice, qualifying, race coverage, commentary and more on SPEEDtv.com!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Cooper

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR

F1: Paddy Lowe Finally Confirmed At Mercedes
Paddy Lowe will join the team as Executive Director (Technical) Monday…
F1: We Need To Improve Qualifying, Says Massa
Felipe Massa says Ferrari is still not where it wants to be...
F1: Grosjean Pumped About Monaco Prospects
Romain Grosjean wrecked on the first lap of the 2012 Monaco GP...…