Wheelnut <I>was</I> to blame for Alonso exit.

Renault has confirmed that the right-rear wheelnut, and not a driveshaft, was to blame for Fernando Alonso's exit from the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Spaniard retired from race on lap 52, immediately following his second and final pit-stop, when dry tyres were fitted to his car. As he left the pit-lane, it was evident there was a problem at the right rear, the car twitching before being put him into a spin at turn one. Although Alonso recovered and continued, another twitch and spin at turn two pitched the car into the barriers, ending his race, and apparently handing the championship initiative to rival Michael Schumacher.

TV footage showed the wheelnut parting company with the axle before Alonso spun, leading to speculation that there may have been 'finger trouble' at the pit-stop. Initial investigations back at the garage suggested an axle problem, before more detailed inspection of the damaged parts showed the cause lay elsewhere. Alonso had initially blamed a driveshaft failure, but the team's engineering director, Pat Symonds, confirmed that the wheelnut had been to blame.

"There is a safety mechanism holding the wheelnut on, and it did not disengage at the second pit-stop," he explained, "That meant the wheelnut was damaged as it was removed, and did not re-attach correctly as the new wheel went on. The reassuring fact is that this is a simple problem to fix, and doesn't put the exceptional reliability of the R26 in any doubt. We will have a modified solution in place for Turkey."