Malaise in Malaysia for Haas F1 Team
The Haas team's weekend turned into a nightmare during the race, with Romain Grosjean and Esteban Guttierez both retiring with mechanical problems. Worse still, the team was penalized after the Mexican lost a wheel in the middle of the straight.
Fate seems to be against Haas at the end of this season. Romain Grosjean is encountering more and more issues with the functioning of his car, and the drivers can no longer even finish the Grand Prix races.
Worse still, it was due to a mechanical failure and an unforgivable negligence at this level of the competition that the two drivers had to withdraw.
Romain Grosjean, once again a victim of brake issues, had difficulty hiding his irritation upon returning from the pits: There was a brake failure. We still don’t quite know what happened, but the pedal went all the way to the floor and I had to avoid the drivers in front of me. The data didn’t indicate anything like that. It’s really a shame.
The race for the Frenchman was looking good, being in the Top 10 after the first lap: « We had a very good first lap, and we were aiming for points by being in the Top 10. Things did not go well. I was battling with Fernando [Alonso]. He had quite a bit of power, so it was difficult to keep him behind me. I was just trying to keep up with his pace. The plan was just to preserve the tires as long as possible. We did not reach that point… »
During the restart after the last virtual safety car following Lewis Hamilton’s retirement, Esteban Gutierrez was involved in an unusual accident. Indeed, his front left wheel suddenly detached at the end of the straight, forcing him to pull over to the side of the track on three wheels.
LAP 43/56: Here’s the moment when GUT lost his wheel
VSC deployed but it’s in and we’re racing again#MalaysiaGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/n1TbFjxITY
— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 octobre 2016
Following this incident attributable to the team, it was fined €5,000. The track marshals determined that the team should not have sent its driver back out from the pits with a wheel that was evidently poorly attached. The attachment system of the rim to the hub is believed to be the cause. The team must conduct further investigations to understand what really happened.
Earlier in the race, a puncture destroyed Gutierrez’s ambitions: « We made a very good start. Unfortunately, I suffered a puncture when Kevin [Magnussen] hit me from behind in the first corner. The floor was damaged, and I had to fight once I got back on track. » confirms the Mexican.
A feeling of helplessness overtook the team, as demonstrated by the words of Günther Steiner, the sporting director: « We don’t really know what happened with the two cars. One had brake problems and the other apparently lost a wheel. We need to study what happened with Romain’s brakes. And we don’t really know yet why Esteban lost a wheel,” the Italian confessed dejectedly.
