Force India latest F1 team hit by pit stop problem

Force India has become the fourth different Formula 1 team to be hit with a pit stop problem and were slapped with a €5,000 fine from the FIA for an unsafe release with Sergio Perez in the closing stages of FP2.

After the double pit stop blunder by Haas during the opener in Australia was followed by Ferrari’s two pit stop mistakes in Bahrain, the second resulting in a mechanic suffering a double leg fracture, and McLaren’s own pit stop issue in China, Force India are the latest team to be hit the same issue.

In the closing minutes of FP2 Perez stopped on track at Turn 9 with a suspected front-left tyre issue having just completed a pit stop practice.

After an investigation by the FIA and Force India it was discovered the wheel was “clamped” to the car but not properly fitted due to a cross-threaded wheel nut.

Consequently, the Silverstone-based team has been hit with a €5,000 fine by the FIA – the same figure Haas, Ferrari and McLaren were all handed for their initial pit stop mistakes resulting in an unsafe release. Ferrari were handed an additional €50,000 fine for its second pit stop error in Bahrain which resulted in one of its mechanics being run over by Kimi Raikkonen.

Force India is understood to be running an internal investigation into the cause of the cross-threaded wheel nut in order to avoid future issues after becoming the fourth different F1 team to be affected by the problem.