Sauber fixed the DRS fault which caused Marcus Ericsson’s huge crash during second practice and will make further changes to the system tomorrow.
Ericsson was unhurt in the crash, which pitched his car into a series of high-speed rolls. He lost control of his car when its DRS failed to close properly in the braking zone for turn one, a fault team mate Charles Leclerc also experienced.“It was quite tricky obviously because we would arrive at the end of the straight and we didn’t really know if it would close or not,” said Leclerc. “I had the same issue but I was a bit luckier with it, it closed a bit earlier than Marcus.”
The team put a fix in place during the session but plan to improve the solution in time for Saturday’s running.
“We found the issue, we resolved it but that required a bit of sacrifice in performance,” said Leclerc. “We know what to do for tomorrow to not have this problem and for there to be full performance.
“So there’s still a bit of potential. I think the rhythm was good today, it’s looking good for tomorrow. I think the main thing today is Marcus is fine and looking at the crash it was not a given.”
Leclerc said he had no doubt in Sauber’s ability to fix the problem. “You just [have to] focus on the job and forget what happened before,” he said.
“I have full trust in my guys and that they were doing the job and if they tell me that it will be fine next run it means that it will be. I think that they did and at the end we found the issue and we finished the day on a high.”
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erikje
31st August 2018, 22:43
Not the first DRS related problem at Sauber.
I hope they learn faster as the car now has some serious power compared with before.
Gabriel (@rethla)
31st August 2018, 22:50
“It was quite tricky obviously because we would arrive at the end of the straight and we didn’t really know if it would close or not”
Are they just gambling with the settings or what? It sounds like the drivers knew beforehand the DRS might not close in time.
tim
31st August 2018, 23:07
Di Resta told on Sky that with low wing angles, such as at Monza, it actually takes more time for wing to close and start working.
Gabriel (@rethla)
31st August 2018, 23:10
Yeh that might be true but Saubers problem aint that it takes a long time to close, the problem is that it doesnt even start closing before its to late.
tim
31st August 2018, 23:04
I find it’s hypocrisy for FIA with their “safety first” politics to implement questionable passive safety solutions like halo and still keep DRS on the cars. The rear wing, essential downforce generating part, literally tons of downforce, that can be disabled at 360 kph. This season Wiliams already had problems with airflow reattaching after DRS being shut, and now this.
Gabriel (@rethla)
31st August 2018, 23:08
There has never been and will never be safety first.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
31st August 2018, 23:33
Let’s be honest here, DRS failures have not happened too often. I can’t remember any other incident of this calibre related to the DRS. If it’s done properly it shouldn’t be a hazard, although the airflow reattaching is a known issue and it’s why drivers sometimes manually disable the DRS before braking. It’s nothing that cannot be studied and amended.
I rather see it banned because it’s a disgrace to racing, not because it’s a safety issue which I don’t think it is.
Tim (@TimAitch) (@timaitch)
31st August 2018, 23:39
In my broadcast they showed a clip near the end of the session, that showed the wing element in the open position, then it opened another inch or so, just before the crash: I am wondering that, in the extended-open-position, was the element was perhaps generating lift?
Sham (@sham)
1st September 2018, 8:41
While I’m no aerodynamic expert, I think what caused the crash was that the overextended flap was too far open and was being held open by the airflow.
The actuator simply couldn’t close it from that position until the resistance was less, you saw it close before Ericsson hit the wall.
The fix on Le Clercs car was to limit the opening angle.
We have to remember the speeds at Monza, the teams bring unique wings to a unique circuit. This year, one failed.
We should be thankful Ericsson is OK and applaud Sauber for being able to identify and resolve the issue before Le Clerc went out. Hopefully they can get the wing to fully open safely for today’s sessions.
Palle (@palle)
1st September 2018, 15:58
When engineering with a focus on safety: The DRS function shall of course be constructed in such a way that a closed DRS wing is the default position, which the wing will return into if the system fails. I’m surprised that FIA haven’t put this demand into the specifications of the DRS wing function. The drivers shouldn’t race a car, if the DRS system is constructed in such a way that the default position of the wing isn’t providing downforce – this time Marcus was lucky to step out as handsome as he stepped in the car:-)