A new mandatory wheel retention system from Singapore
At the Nürburgring, Mark Webber lost a wheel during a pit stop, which ended up hitting a FOM cameraman. The FIA decided to react by requiring teams to install a second system to retain the wheels when they are not secured on the cars.
Formula teams will have to use a new wheel retention system starting from the Singapore Grand Prix to improve pit stop safety and avoid incidents like the one at the Nürburgring when a poorly attached wheel from Mark Webber’s Red Bull hit a FOM cameraman.
It was Autosport that revealed the information. The FIA regulations already require teams to have systems to retain the wheels, which serves to prevent wheels from detaching from cars in the event of an accident.
But after the Nürburgring incident, the FIA realized that this system works well when the wheel is already properly attached but not in the case of a tire change where the wheel may not be completely secured to the car.
According to the British publication, after deciding to take immediate effect measures, teams were informed during the summer break that starting from the Singapore Grand Prix – which will take place on September 22 – they must also implement two wheel retention systems, one for the case where a wheel detaches while it was fixed (which already exists) and a second for the case where the wheel detaches while it has been engaged on the axle – which can happen if a nut is incorrectly secured during a tire change.
Sam Michael, McLaren’s sporting director, stated, as quoted by Autosport, that the Woking team has already tested this system at Spa and will do the same at Monza next week: « We tried it on the car on Friday [in Belgium] and we will probably put it on the car on Friday at Monza as well. It is a bit different and, when you are doing stops in about two seconds, the most marginal things can make a huge difference. A small design change can really disrupt the mechanics and their whole routine. »
