Lucas di Grassi fails to start the Japanese Grand Prix as he crashes on his reconnaissance lap leaving him licking his wounds and wondering if this could cost him his 2011 F1 drive.

The accident occurred at the infamous 130R corner while he was driving to the grid for the start of the race. His car was totally destroyed which was extraordinary as he shouldn’t have been going very quick at this stage.

This was after he had qualified that morning in 21^st place, just in front of his team mate Timo Glock who started in 22^nd.

With new gun Jerome D’Ambrosio breathing down his neck; the Brazilian can not afford to waste the opportunities he has left to impress the bosses at Virgin Racing with his seat for next season hanging in the balance. Lucas admits that he now has to work harder than ever, he said:

“I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to take part in the race. I had a big crash in the 130R corner while preparing the car to go to the grid. I’m glad I’m physically fine and will keep pushing harder than ever together with my team.

“I was happy with my qualifying performance in the morning but also confident there was more to come out of the car as I only managed 25 laps in total in Suzuka”

Team principal John Booth was however baffled in how he was able to destroy his car at those speeds on a reconnaissance lap. He said:

“We have studied all the information from his car and there is no indication of a failure. Thankfully Lucas was unhurt in his accident.

“At least Timo was able to bring the car home safely to achieve another classified finish. We now hope for better fortune in Korea in two weeks’ time.”

Torrential downpour meant qualifying took place on Sunday for the first time since 2004, fortunately better weather greeted Suzuka and show got back on the road.

Clearly many teams didn’t have enough time to find their optimum set-ups and Virgin were one of these teams. Therefore qualifying was always going to be an uphill battle which resulted in only five qualifying laps between the two drivers.

As the race started just five hours later, Glock, the sole Virgin car remaining, got off to a reasonable start, but due to the first lap carnage and the resulting Safety Car, this good early work was wiped away.

He pitted twice to allow him to complete the race on the Prime tyre, which he started the race on. Unfortunately this left him behind Sakon Yamamoto on his home track and this experience kept the German at bay.

Once the Japanese driver pitted, Timo was released and he was able to show his true pace, but by then his race was long over. He finished in 14^th place, just behind the two Lotus duo.

This was obviously a disappointing weekend for the team that accumulated in a freak accident for the number two driver and their lead man being held up by a weak Hispania car.

Despite the new aero upgrades being installed, they still looked to be behind the pace of their rivals and this must be a worry going into the Korean Grand Prix in two weeks time.

FIA officials are still yet to give the track the all clear to race, but if it does go ahead we will expect to see an improved all-round performance from the Virgin team.

Let’s hope that next time both drivers are able to get to the grid in one piece.

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