At the Australian GP, Stake F1, competing as Kick Sauber, faced repeated wheel nut issues, derailing their race ambitions and adding to a series of setbacks.
A recurring scenario since Bahrain, Stake F1, racing as Kick Sauber for the Australian GP this weekend, lost any chance of performing well again due to wheel nut issues, this time on both cars.
In addition to repeating incidents from Bahrain and Jeddah, the team also incurred a $5000 fine for releasing a wheel nut from the pit stop area, deemed dangerous.
“It’s never great to see a promising race fail like this. It’s frustrating because everything was going well until the pit stop. We had a good start, and importantly, we were maintaining a good pace and should have scored points,” stated Valtteri Bottas.
“It’s clear we still have work to do to address the nut issues affecting us. What we’ve done so far has significantly reduced the incidence, but the risk remains – as seen today.”
“There’s an element of bad luck, and there’s nothing the pit crew could have done differently. It’s a technical issue that needs to be resolved.”
“There are some positives to take: our performance is improving, we’ve made progress thanks to the team’s upgrades, and we should have been in the points. We were battling with Fernando in the early laps, and I believe an 8th or 9th place was within our reach.”
“We continue to work hard, with more improvements on the way, and I believe we can make an even bigger step in Japan.”
Zhou faced additional problems
Guanyu Zhou also had his race ruined by a similar issue, but he faced other challenges: “This weekend was tough. Starting from the pit lane is always tricky, and being stuck in a DRS train made overtaking difficult.”
“There were some points up for grabs for the team today, but unfortunately, we didn’t achieve that. I couldn’t fight for it. During my second pit stop, I encountered a problem beyond my control related to my gearbox: when I selected the gear, the car stalled, costing me a lot of time.”
“On the positive side, our race pace seemed quite strong and competitive compared to the teams around us. It’s a missed opportunity, but we will continue our good work to bounce back in Suzuka.”
Stake F1’s Wheel Nut Woes Continue in Australian GP. Stake F1’s Wheel Nut Woes Continue in Australian GP
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