Crash keeps Mercedes, Venturi out of Formula E qualifying in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah
The Mercedes and Venturi Formula E teams were kept out of qualifying for the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah on Saturday after Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara crashed heavily at the end of practice.
Mortara’s Venturi team said initial checks suggested brake failure was the cause of the accident, with the car plunging into the Tecpro barrier after accelerating from a practice start.
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mortara’s crash in practice.
— #1 pato o’ward lover remi (@remiformula) February 27, 2021
that mercedes fe car has a serious issue with the throttle getting stuck.
same thing happened last year at mexico with de vries too iirc. pic.twitter.com/g7fSjyuA4I
Venturi uses the same powertrain as Mercedes.
“Teams Mercedes-EQ and ROKiT Venturi Racing are not allowed to enter the track during the qualifying session while an investigation continues into the cause of Mortara’s crash,” Formula E quoted race control as saying.
Mercedes said that governing body FIA had requested more details on what happened to Mortara’s car and that the cars had been held in the garage.
Venturi said Mortara, who was runner-up in Friday’s floodlit opener to Mercedes’ Dutch driver Nyck de Vries, had been taken to hospital in Riyadh for precautionary checks and was conscious and talking.
Read more:
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