Renault technical director Nick Chester says a valve problem caused Kevin Magnussen’s car to set fire in the pits during first practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Danish driver was forced to jump out of his car after fire started to appear out of the airbox during FP1.
It was extinguished but he was forced to miss most of the session, before returning to the track in second practice and completing 19 laps.
“We had a difficult start to the day with Kevin’s car,” Chester explained. “There was a problem with a valve on a fuel breather pipe which meant that fuel escaped from the vent, causing a fire.
“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.”
Commenting on his day, Magnussen said: “We expected it to be hot in Sepang but maybe not as hot as that.
“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.”
