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Haas Blames Pitstop Blunders on "Lack of Practice"

17:26, 25 Mar 2018

byNicolás Quarles van Ufford

After both Haas cars broke down during the Australian Grand Prix shortly after their pitstops, the American team is planning extra pitstop practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Things were looking up for Haas before they made those (already) infamous pitstops. Kevin Magnussen overtook Max Verstappen at lights-out and slipped into fourth, soon to be followed by his teammate Romain Grosjean in fifth, who also overtook Verstappen after the Dutchman spun out.

The sky was the limit for Haas until they pitted, and both cars were standing still just a few laps after. The American team were fined 10.000 euro's for unsafe pitstops, as the wheel nuts weren't safely attached.

"This weekend was very tense for us – we had some issues in FP1, FP2, we didn't have a lot of spares, so we didn't do a lot of pitstop practice, and that could be one of the reasons," team boss Guenther Steiner said.

"We need to work harder on it – more practice. When we get to Bahrain start as quick as possible practice there and the guys can boost their confidence."

"It is unbelievable – the same problem at two stops, one on the front wheel, one on the rear wheel, but it happened, it's real."

"A very disappointing end to the day for us, but the pace was good, the car was running strong – that's the thing that keeps the spirits up."

"We go to Bahrain with our heads high and try just to minimise these mistakes on the pitstops."