Haas F1 Team with mechanical problems
Haas F1 Team had to leave the Malaysian GP with a double retirement. Romain Grosjean who started the race from the 12th position ended up in the gravel trap due to brake problems while his team-mate Esteban Gutierrez retired from the race after having lost his left-front wheel.
Both Haas drivers experienced a series of misfortunes, clashes and mechanical problems on the Sepang International Circuit. They both got off the line well at the start and could exploit the opportunities which arose after the clash between Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg. However, things got worse as the race unfolded.
Romain Grosjean experienced a sudden loss of brake power approaching the final turn of the track. As his car did not slow down, he flew into the gravel trap which left him deeply disappointed.
“There was a brake failure. We really don’t know what yet, but the pedal just went straight to the floor and I had to avoid the car in front of me. Our data didn’t suggest anything beforehand. It’s a shame. We did a really good first lap and we were looking at points running inside the top-10.”
Before his accident, Grosjean was hoping for a point-scoring position, although he admitted that the speed of his car was not that great.
“Things just didn’t go very well. I was racing with Fernando (Alonso). He had power, so it was very difficult to keep him behind. I was then just trying to follow his pace. The plan was to try to keep the tires alive for quite a while. We just didn’t get to that point, though,” said Grosjean.
Gutierrez started well, but Kevin Magnussen tangled with him in the first corner which curtailed his chances for any high-scoring places.
“Today we had a fantastic start. It was pretty good up to the first corner when, unfortunately, I got a puncture in my rear-right tire from Kevin (Magnussen) touching behind. I then had to come back to the pits. The floor was damaged and when I went back out on track I was fighting a lot, pushing to make up places, but the car wasn’t easy to drive.
The Mexican driver left Malaysia with bitter disappointment, but hopes that things get better in Japan in a fortnight’s time.
“We had to retire after my second pit stop as we had a mechanical failure. Overall, a pretty disappointing weekend, but we have to keep our focus and keep the rhythm as we head to Japan,” added Gutierrez.
