A fuel system upgrade on Kevin Magnussen’s car was the cause of his dramatic fire in the pit lane during today’s first practice session in Malaysia, Autosport has confirmed.
Magnussen’s Renault burst into flames after the Dane returned to the pits from his installation lap on Friday morning, leading to a 20-minute delay in the session as the team and marshals battled to contain the situation.
Renault technical boss Nick Chester said after the session that the fire was caused by one of the new parts brought by the team.
“There was a problem with the valve on a fuel breather pipe which meant that fuel escaped from the vent, causing a fire”.
Fuel could be seen pouring from the air box of the RS16. As it ran down the hot engine cover of the car, it ignited several times – with the crew battling the flames as they drained the tank.
A great testament to the modern safety in Formula One, Kevin Magnussen, the marshals and the mechanics all escaped from the situation unharmed – with Magnussen leaping out of the car within five seconds of the flames appearing.
Although he failed to set a lap time in first practice, Renault successfully rebuilt the car with a previous specification fuel system in time for the second session.
