If Stake F1 wants to have a chance of winning points in Formula 1, the preconditions must be optimal. But that’s where things went wrong during the first two races of the year. Where Valtteri Bottas first stood still for more than 52 seconds in Bahrain due to a problem with the wheel nut, it happened again in Jeddah. Then Zhou Guanyu’s pit stop took far too long and the Chinese faced the same problem as Bottas.
“We have to solve the problem with the pit stops, because that has enormously affected our performance,” said team boss Alessandro Alunni Bravi during the team bosses’ press conference in Australia. “We worked hard after Jeddah to solve this problem. Although it is not easy because it is not related to one part. We have brought a few solutions to Melbourne that will reduce the problem, but in the next races we will have our final solution.”
‘Takes time’
Alunni Bravi then discusses the problem with the pit stops in more detail. “We have redesigned all the parts to improve our pit stops and we have also changed our material. We discovered that there is a problem with the design of a part and are in the process of redesigning that part. But of course that takes time considering its production.”
This means that Stake F1 uses the same material as in Jeddah. “But we have taken some measures. We have also made some adjustments to the processes for the drivers, for example how they should approach the pit stop, as well as some processes for the mechanics. We may be a bit slower, but for us it is It is important to be consistent and that the car drives away,” the team boss concludes.
Whether Stake F1 actually has the problems under control will only become clear on Sunday. Eyes will be on Bottas and Zhou’s pit stops during the Australian Grand Prix.