Vitaly Petrov thinks that rubber marbles on the track may have contributed to his spectacular exit from the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Russian ran wide at Turn 8 near the end of the race, but as he tried to power back onto the track he hit a bump in the grass that launched him high into the air. The impact when he landed broke a steering column mount and Petrov was forced to retire on the spot.
Petrov said he was not entirely sure what had caused the accident, but thinks that a chunk of rubber marble may have contributed.
"To be honest I still don't understand what I did," Petrov said. "The corner is difficult, but to be honest you try to not win so much on this corner.
"There were two laps to go. I knew Lewis [Hamilton] was behind me, and I knew the tires were quite good as I showed the fastest laps.
"I think I picked up just a little bit of rubber, and as soon as you take one piece of rubber, you have a little bit of understeer. I think I had this little bit of understeer and then I went wider and wider. You should be able to come back to the track there, so I just kept going – but then I hit the big bump."
Although Petrov's launch into the air looked spectacular, the Renault driver insists he was not scared: "It is not scary. You know it will be a big shunt but it is scarier when you see a wall when you are crashing."
Petrov does believe, however, that the bump he hit should be looked at, because it could cause another accident in the future.
"I know it is difficult, but it should be less bumpy, because can you imagine what would have happened if something happened differently. You could have quite a big crash."