Renault broke the curfew on Friday night to change Daniel Ricciardo’s chassis having discovered a hairline fracture.
The Aussie finished Friday’s second practice for the British Grand Prix with the ninth fastest time, 0.838s down on pace-setter Lance Stroll.
However, Renault later discovered a small fracture on Ricciardo’s chassis, prompting the team to make the call to change it overnight.
“Due to a hairline fracture on the chassis in practice yesterday, Daniel will take a new chassis for the rest of the weekend. The team broke the curfew overnight but all is ready for practice today,” the team revealed.
? UPDATE ?
Due to a hairline fracture on the chassis in practice yesterday, Daniel will take a new chassis for the rest of the weekend. The team broke the curfew overnight but all is ready for practice today.#RSspirit #BritishGP
— Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) August 1, 2020
The Renault mechanics worked through the night, using the first of the two jokers permitted in a season.
F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer said in his report on Saturday morning: “Last night team personnel of the Renault F1 Team, who are associated with the operation of the car, were within the confines of the circuit during the eight hour perido which commenced at 00:00 on 01 August, eleven hours before the scheduled start time of P3 and ends three hours before the scheduled start time of P3 at 08:00 on 01 August.
“This was the first of the two individual exceptions permitted for the Renault F1 team during the 2020 Formula One Championship season and therefore no action should be taken.”
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Heading into Saturday’s qualifying, Ricciardo is expecting a close fight amongst F1’s midfield drivers.
“It certainly feels a bit different driving here without fans as it’s one of the places you feel it most,” he said after FP2.
“It’s always a fun track to drive, so I enjoyed taking on some of the high-speed stuff this place offers.
“In terms of our running, we showed some promising signs but, on my side, we lacked a bit of consistency in the car.
“On some runs, I felt happier than others, so we have some work to do there. As always, it’s pretty close between a group of cars.
“The temperature is dropping tomorrow, so it should change quite a bit.”
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