Breaking news
Formula 1 Australian GP
Haas blames lack of practice for pitstop blunders
The Haas Formula 1 team is planning extra pitstop practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, after suggesting poor preparation contributed to the problems that ruined its race in Australia.
Ben Anderson
Edited: Mar 25, 2018, 5:46 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were looking set to finish inside the top six in Melbourne, before a pair of "heartbreaking" unsafe pitstops put both cars out of the first F1 race of the season and cost Haas a €10,000 fine.
Team principal Gunther Steiner said a lack of pitstop practice had likely contributed to the mechanics cross-threading wheelnuts at the stops, and insisted the team would work harder on its procedures ahead of the next race.
"This weekend was very tense for us – we had some issues in FP1, FP2, we didn't have a lot of spares, so we didn't do a lot of pitstop practice, and that could be one of the reasons," Steiner told TV crews after the race.
"It was just a bad pitstop. The wheelnut got on wrong and it was cross-threaded. We couldn't catch it early enough. You work in a 2.5s window to do this and we were very unlucky.
"We had on the wheelgun the same guys as last year, which never missed it, so it is one of these things.
"We need to work harder on it – more practice. When we get to Bahrain start as quick as possible practice there and the guys can boost their confidence."
Watch our 60s video report of the race...
Steiner suggested Haas being a relatively new team "doesn't help" in such situations, but urged his squad to remain confident given the strong pace its cars showed in Australia, where they qualified best of the rest behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
"They need to keep the confidence," he added. "This is a freak incident. We need to keep our heads up. We know we have a good year in front of us, we need just to analyse what happened and how can we make it that it doesn't happen again.
"It is unbelievable – the same problem at two stops, one on the front wheel, one on the rear wheel, but it happened, it's real.
"A very disappointing end to the day for us, but the pace was good, the car was running strong – that's the thing that keeps the spirits up.
"We go to Bahrain with our heads high and try just to minimise these mistakes on the pitstops."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Australian GP: Post-race press conference
Next article Force India's 14-race points streak ends in Melbourne
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Ben Anderson
How Lauda won F1's closest ever title battle
Formula 1
Formula 1
How Lauda won F1's closest ever title battle
Testing the tiers of Porsche's motorsport ladder
Porsche
Porsche
Testing the tiers of Porsche's motorsport ladder
Track Test: Lamborghini Super Trofeo
General
General
Track Test: Lamborghini Super Trofeo
More from
Haas F1 Team
Rafa Camara to debut in F1 Brazil GP as Esteban Ocon out at Haas
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
7 h
Rafa Camara to debut in F1 Brazil GP as Esteban Ocon out at Haas
Latest news
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
5 h
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicense quest continues
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
5 h
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicense quest continues
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
6 h
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
7 h
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe