Michael Schumacher suspects a technical failure to his Mercedes car caused the heavy collision that ended his Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.
The seven-time Formula One champion smashed into the rear of Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso car, ending the race for both drivers.
Schumacher says he was cautious after the end of the safety car period and “braked a little bit earlier than I would normally for that corner” at the fifth turn, leading on to the main straight.
“The car wouldn’t decelerate and I need to investigate why that was the case,” Schumacher said.
“I just went straight on the brakes very hard, locked up everything and tried to brake as hard as possible but the accident wasn’t avoidable anymore.”
Vergne, the youngest driver in the field, was forgiving toward the 43-year-old seven-time champion, with both drivers putting an arm around each other as they walked away from their wrecks.
The incident was very similar to a collision at the Spanish GP where Schumacher rammed into the rear of Bruno Senna’s Williams car.
Schumacher was given a five-place grid penalty at the next race for causing the collision.
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said the Singapore crash was “an unusual set of circumstances, so we will have a careful look at the data and work out what could have happened.”