Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber has been forced to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix after his wheel fell off barely a third way into the race.
Webber broke the front wing of his Red Bull and damaged the car’s rear right wheel after hitting Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne 17 laps into Sunday’s 56-lap race.
He was on his way back to the pits when the broken wheel fell off and rolled across the track at Shanghai International Circuit.
It follows a horror weekend for the Australian, who started the race from pit lane after his team decided to change his gear box and make other modifications.
Webber was originally meant to start from the back of the grid, having been excluded from qualifying on Saturday after a technical error left his car with not enough fuel for a sample.