Formula 1

Wehrlein blames Gutierrez for first lap elimination

1 Mins read
Pascal Wehrlein - Credit: Manor Racing

Pascal Wehrlein has criticised Esteban Gutierrez after blaming the Mexican for causing the crash that saw the Manor Racing MRT racer retiring from the Mexican Grand Prix on Sunday.

The German had made it through to Q2 for a fourth time in 2016 on Sunday and was hoping for a strong race, but found himself out with a broken suspension after Gutierrez locked up and hit Wehrlein, who was then was pitched into the Sauber F1 Team machine of Marcus Ericsson.

Wehrlein believed the Haas F1 Team racer braked too late into the turn, feeling Gutierrez should have been more conservative at the start of the race.

“He braked just too late,” said Wehrlein on Autosport.com. “He was already crashing into the McLaren in front of him, he was locking up his tyres and yeah, he touched me.

“There was a car inside of him, which I saw on a replay but it is not a corner where three cars can go around – that’s it. There was no chance for him to overtake me, so it was even risking his race.

“In the midfield, there can always be a situation where something happens but this one was avoidable. It’s disappointing for me and the team because we did a great job this weekend.”

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