British Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc retired from the race at Silverstone with a loose rear wheel.
Sauber’s Charles Leclerc put in another strong weekend at Silverstone, having made it into Q3 for the second time in three races. Qualifying in P9, Leclerc was in the running for a strong points finish on Sunday when he came into the pits for his sole planned pitstop on Lap 18. Resuming the track, it was evident there was a problem as he didn’t accelerate away out of the pitlane.
He was told to stop the car over the radio and pulled over at Turn 3 to retire.
The team were investigated by race officials as a result of the unusual stoppage, with scrutiny coming down to whether the car had been released in an unsafe condition. According to the investigation, the car was released with a loose rear wheel and the team were given a 5000 euro fine as a result.
“It is a pity that I had to retire from the race today.” said Leclerc afterwards. “The start was exciting and I was able to gain a few positions during the opening laps. The car felt good, our pace was competitive, and things were running smoothly.”
“Unfortunately, there was an issue during the pitstop, and we had to retire straight after. In any case, mistakes can happen, and the team has been doing a great job with the pitstops in the past races, so we will move on from this and go into the next race weekend feeling positive about the progress we are making.”
“Not sure yet, don’t know yet if it is a technical failure or an error from a mechanic at the pit stop.”
“If it was a mechanical failure it happens in motor sport and if it was a mistake from the mechanic, we have been topping the pit stops times so they are doing an incredible job and sometimes it happens you make a mistake.”
