Renault’s terrible Formula 1 weekend just got worse

Renault’s Formula 1 team can’t seem to catch a break at the moment, with one of the team’s transporters being involved in a road accident following a horror German Grand Prix for the French outfit.

While en route to this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, a Renault F1 team truck was pictured stranded on the side of the road on the M1 motorway near Gyor, Hungary.

The truck and trailer left the road, crossing the central divider, and breaking through the armco toward oncoming traffic. Renault said that the driver was not inspired by the team's brief efforts on track.

“The driver, who was driving within the respected regulations, was extracted from the vehicle. He is conscious and has not suffered serious injury,” said a team statement.

“He has been transported to hospital in Hungary for further checks. No other vehicles were involved in the incident.”

Police confirmed that the reason for the crash remains a mystery.

“Unclear reasons and circumstances had led to a truck travelling towards Budapest, breaking through the barrier separating the track bodies, to the side leading to Hegyeshalom, where it had stopped in a drainage ditch,” local police said in a statement.

It is unclear what the truck was transporting. F1 teams having multiple, often dozens, of trucks in use during the European leg of the F1 season, moving everything from the corporate suite to transporting the racing cars themselves, and the numerous spares needed for a grand prix weekend.

This hiccup for the Renault F1 Team follows a dreadful showing at Hockenheim last weekend, with both drivers failing to finish a frantic and eventful grand prix.

Daniel Ricciardo was forced to retire early in the race with an expired engine, while Nico Hulkenberg crashed out after running in a podium place. He ran afoul of the final set of turns that also caught out Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

The German Grand Prix was a prime opportunity for Renault to score well, and potentially even nab a podium position, as intermittent rain caused chaos with many front runners crashing out.

Ricciardo’s blown engine was the same unit he started the season with, Renault electing to save his more powerful turbocharged V6 for this weekend’s race in Hungary.

There are changes at the top level occurring for the Renault F1 team, with Renault’s CEO Thierry Bollore stepping down from the board of the racing squad, to be replaced by Alain Prost.