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Suzuka - Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat on Saturday apologised to his mechanics after leaving his car in a crumpled heap during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Russian was fortunate to walk away from the wreckage unscathed but his error in judgement on approach to the Suzuka hairpin will mean his team faced a long night to get the car ready for Sunday's race.
"I will be supporting (the mechanics) tonight," said a contrite Kvyat. "I am not as good as they are at building the car but I will try to stay with them as long as I can tonight.
"I mainly feel sorry for the guys, who have quite a big job. But it was a missed opportunity because the lap wasn't looking too bad until then."
Kvyat will consequently start the Japanese race from the pitlane after the worst crash of his career brought an early end to qualifying.
Team principal Christian Horner, already showing signs of strain after being quizzed all week about Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz's threat to pull his Austrian team out of Formula One, was unamused.
"Clearly, we will have a very long night producing a car for him to race tomorrow," he sniffed. "He has nothing to lose so he will be running an aggressive race."
Kvyat's right rear wheel caught grass as he came into the hairpin, causing him to lose control and the car slammed against a wall before flipping over, leaving the left side badly mangled and the wheels ripped off.
It was a heart-stopping reminder of Frenchman Jules Bianchi's fatal crash at a wet Suzuka last year but the Russian was quick to report he was unhurt over the radio, chirping: "I'm okay!"
"I wouldn't say the car looked great," said Kvyat, in his first year at Red Bull after a season with sister team Toro Rosso. "It happens sometimes. It was my mistake, my error. Nothing special.
"But I have never had a crash until now," he added with a sheepish grin. "Maybe in karting but I never rolled a car before. Unfortunately there is a first time for everything."
