Renault has confirmed that the fire on Kevin Magnussen’s car during Malaysian Grand Prix practice was the result of a breather pipe issue that caused a fuel leak.
Magnussen was forced to abandon his car in the pit lane after a large fire broke out during the Formula 1 practice session at the Sepang International Circuit on Friday morning.
The fire resulted in a lengthy red flag period during the session while it was put out, as well as leaving the Renault team with a sizeable repair job to complete.
Magnussen was eventually able to return to the track midway through second practice later in the day.
“We expected it to be hot in Sepang but maybe not as hot as that!” Magnussen joked after the session.
“My crew were great dealing with the fire and getting the car back into action for the afternoon. From my perspective, I heard the call on the radio to jump out and I didn’t need to be told twice!
“In the afternoon we were able to get some laps so the day wasn’t a write-off. There’s a bit too much entry oversteer with the initial set-up but we know where we want to improve.”
Renault technical director Nick Chester confirmed that the fire had been caused by an issue with the fuel breather pipe on Magnussen’s car.
“We had a difficult start to the day with Kevin’s car. There was a problem with a valve on a fuel breather pipe which meant that fuel escaped from the vent, causing a fire,” Chester said.
“The crew did a great job keeping everything under control so we could address the problem. We changed fuel systems for the second session and don’t expect any further issues.”
Qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix is live on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app from 5am ET on Saturday.
