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Friday morning's first practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix was brought to a spectacular halt with just over six minutes remaining when Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso suffered a remarkable double front-suspension failure as he braked over the bump for Turn 14 at the end of the main straight. As both front wheels were torn off with the car still travelling in a straight line, the Swiss driver became a passenger as his car tobogganed into light contact with the outer barrier. The left front wheel was tossed into a spectator area, but fortunately nobody was hit by it.
Subsequent investigation by Toro Rosso revealed that an undiagnosed problem with the suspension’s front right upright - a new design introduced in China - had triggered the incident. When the right upright failed, the resulting increase in load is thought to have caused the left upright to fail. The wheel tethers, which are attached to the uprights, were thus unable to do their job. The team will revert to previously tested uprights for the remainder of the weekend on both their cars.