Hyderabad: Championship leader Wehrlein crashes in practice session

Hyderabad: Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein crashed in the opening practice session of the inaugural Formula E race in India here on Friday. At the shakedown before free practice 1, the track wore a very dusty look as cars zoomed around the Hyderabad Street Circuit.

The opening practice session was delayed by 35 minutes. The Formula E twitter handle said the delay was due to force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances) and did not specify that it was because of a dusty track. Soon after the session started, championship leader Wehrlein of Porsche Formula E team suffered a heavy crash at Turn 18, raising questions over track condition.

However, it was later revealed that a mechanical failure contributed to the crash. "The throttle was stuck open and that led to the crash. It is normal for a street circuit to be dusty at the start. Had the slick tyres been used, grip would have been an issue but the (Hankook) tyres have a much harder compound," a track official told PTI. Sebastian Buemi of Envision Racing set the fastest time of the session. The qualifying race and the final will take place on Saturday. The 2.83km track in the heart of the city covers the Hussain Sagar Lake, NTR Park and NTR Gardens.