Heidfeld's Renault a write off

Nick Heidfeld's car has been written off by Renault, after he suffered his second fire of the season.

The German's car not only caught fire but appeared to explode and injured a race Marshall in the process.

The incident happened just as the team had completed their second pit stop on lap 24.

Heidfeld was forced to leap from his car with flames beginning to engulf the cockpit.

'At Barcelona I looked left, saw a small fire and had time to stop. This one, I looked straight, saw the fire and it got hot.

'I really felt the temperature. It was a bit scary – much more than Barcelona.' Heidfeld told Autosport Magazine.

As Marshall's attended the car, spraying the stricken Renault with fire extinguishers, the sidepod exploded scattering parts of the car across the pit lane exit.

Renault believe that the different engine mapping which they were running for the Hungarian Grand Prix had made the Renault over heat.

This caused a crack in the exhaust pipe before the second pit stop and during a slow tyre change, excess fuel in the exhausts caused the fire.

'The incident was highly undesirable, as it has caused us to write off a chassis, We will take steps prior to the next race to reduce the likelihood of a further fire.

'We are in touch with the FIA both to provide them with a full report of the incident and also to explain to them the actions we are taking to prevent a re-occurrence.' Renault technical director James Allison added.