Stake F1 slapped with fine over pit lane 'danger'

Stake F1's pit stop woes have taken a new turn after being fined €5,000 by the Australian Grand Prix stewards for an infringement.

The Hinwil-based outfit has experienced slow pit stops across the opening three rounds of the current F1 season, taking both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu out of contention for points in the sport's congested midfield pack.

A defect within new parts used by the team during pit stops is to blame and team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi confirmed earlier in the weekend that a solution was still being sought after.

But whilst the incident reviewed by the stewards was not involved directly with the faulty equipment, links can be made to Stake F1's struggles from the issue in question.

When Bottas stopped for the second time in Melbourne, a wheel nut could be seen rolling down the fast lane. Whilst this was not from one of the wheels fitted to his car, it was a spare that was being carried by a mechanic in case another pit stop failure occurred.

The stewards' report read: "The stewards heard from teh team representative and reviewed video evidence.

"The team lost control of a wheel nut during a pit stop, causing a potentially dangerous condition in the pit lane during the race."