Williams reveals cause of Monaco crashes

Technical director Sam Michael had initially stated that cause of the crashes would not be discovered immediately as the team looked to investigate at their Grove-based factory, but Michael has now revealed that the team have identified the problems.

Nico Hulkenberg crashed in the tunnel on the first lap of the race, which Michael says was caused by a problem with his front wing that had been damaged in the first corner.

"Nico had a clutch paddle sensor failure on the grid. He then touched the back of the HRT car in Turn 1 and this damaged the front wing mounting pillars," explained the technical director.

"When he entered the tunnel, the front wing eventually failed and he understeered off into the wall."

Barrichello lasted a little longer before colliding with a barrier at the top of Beau Rivage on lap 31 of the race.

"Rubens had a rear suspension failure," said Michael.

"We have a good idea which part is suspect, but to be completely sure we need to await the results of materials tests back at the factory. However, it won't be an issue going forward."

Michael dismissed suggestions that the failures were related to the teams' new upgrade package and insisted the team was on the up heading to the Turkish Grand Prix.

"The parts that failed in the race were not new designs and they have been on the car since the start of the season," he said.

"I can be confident that our direction of development is moving the right way. We have an upgrade plan for Istanbul, but our first priority at the moment is to consolidate the repairs on both race cars," Michael added. PlanetF1.com