Racing Point suspect carbon debris caused Lance Stroll shunt

Racing Point

Racing Point suspect carbon debris caused Stroll shunt

Stroll caused the second red flag with his big crash

Nicolas Quarles van Ufford

Monday 14 September 2020 10:45

Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer suspects a piece of carbon debris is to blame for the puncture that saw Lance Stroll crash out of the Tuscan Grand Prix.

Stroll was running in fourth when lost control of his RP20 and slammed into the barriers on lap 43, causing the second red flag of the afternoon at Mugello.

Although the car suffered heavy damage and even caught fire, Stroll escaped unharmed as Racing Point begin investigate the cause of the shunt.

"So initially Lance thought it was a puncture," Szafnauer explained to Sky Sports F1.

"And that is what he reported to us so we immediately looked at the tyre pressure and for sure the tyre pressure was at zero but that was after he hit the barrier, not before.

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"We have got to find out what it was. We think it may have been a bit of carbon debris that could have gone into his left rear, caused the puncture and then the spin."

Stroll himself, who was on course to follow up his podium at the Italian Grand Prix with another impressive result, was also left guessing as to what caused him to suddenly lose control of the car.

"We are still investigating whether it was a puncture or suspension failure. Something broke but we are not sure yet. We will look into it and find out," said the Canadian.

Registering his second DNF of the season, Stroll dropped behind Lando Norris and Alex Albon in the drivers' standings, and Stroll reflected, "That's how the cookie crumbles sometimes."

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