McLaren to investigate Norris race-ruining wheel nut issue
McLaren to investigate Norris race-ruining wheel nut issue
McLaren has launched an investigation into why a wheel nut on Lando Norris’ car cross-threaded, potentially costing him a British Grand Prix podium.
Norris was running in third place in his home race at Silverstone on Sunday before pitting after 21 of the 52 laps.
The wheel-nut problem, however, stretched the pit stop from two seconds to six, allowing Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to claim third, with Norris having to settle for fourth.
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl said: “After a series of really good pit stops this year, unfortunately, we had an issue. There was a cross-threaded wheel nut and that delayed the pit stop to six seconds.
"It was the same crew as always and it was a hardware issue that we had, nothing to do with the performance of the crew, they have done great pit stops, especially in the last two months after we made a few steps forward.
"It's something we haven’t seen for quite some time, so we need to analyse exactly what happened there, analyse the parts and see that we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.
"But let’s say thanks to all the training the crew did and the hardware improvements over the last couple of years also, it meant that it was a delayed pit stop but it was not a catastrophic pit stop like we have seen in the past.
"Of course, you don’t want it to happen but at least if it does it’s safe and it allowed us to stay in the race. In terms of the outcome of the race, that obviously finished the battle with Valtteri for Lando. If there was a chance to fight for P3 it is difficult to say.”
McLaren cautious on pace - Seidl
McLaren enjoyed one of its best races in recent times, with the previously off-form Daniel Ricciardo posting a fifth-place finish, the best position he has achieved since joining the team this year.
The team is in a close fight with Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, however, and the Italian team had the upper hand at Silverstone with Charles Leclerc leading until the closing laps when he was passed by Lewis Hamilton.
Seidl added: “With pace, we have to be realistic. Overall, for us [it was] obviously a very strong weekend, with P4 and P5 scoring important points in our battle for the constructors’ championship.
“In the end, we have to accept that with the cars that are in front of us at the end of the race, Charles in the Ferrari especially was very quick all weekend, but looking at ourselves a lot of positives.
“We see also the gap we had to Mercedes and Red Bull was again a lot smaller than last year, a good step forward again.
"It was also positive to see, for this race, that it looks like there’s a bit of a gap opening compared to the teams behind us and Ferrari, which shows the progress we are making with the car in the season.
“A very strong drive all weekend from Lando and what I am very happy with as well is that Daniel could make a really good step forward in qualifying on Friday and then manage to pull off two good races, which is great to see.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Hamilton fired serious warning by Wolff as F1 star takes aim at controversial FIA decision - GPFans F1 Recap
- 5 minutes ago
F1's quirkiest star begins selling ICE CREAM in latest venture
- 1 hour ago
F1 colleagues UNFOLLOW each other as internal drama cranks up
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton 'emotional burden' heading into 2024 season revealed
- 2 hours ago
Marko DIRECTLY addresses Verstappen quit rumours
- 3 hours ago
Vettel CONFIRMS F1 comeback and reveals what's holding it up
- Yesterday 19:42
- 1
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
British Grand Prix fate sealed in MASSIVE F1 announcement
F1 British Grand Prix 2024: Full guide and ticket details for Silverstone spectacular
Brad Pitt's F1 blockbuster film hits SETBACK after British GP filming
Wolff DEMANDS 'no stone unturned' at Mercedes to stop Red Bull dominance
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860