Aston Martin faced another problem on Saturday at the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula 1. The team was penalized by the FIA after an incident considered ‘potentially dangerous’ involving Lance Stroll during the qualifying session in Montreal.
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The episode only worsened the British team’s complicated day, which had already received another financial penalty a little earlier. This time, the stewards understood that Stroll’s car left the pits in an unsafe condition, after the wheel covers remained installed on the AMR26.
According to the report released by the FIA, car number 18 lost one of the outer wheel covers still in the pit lane, right at the start of the session. The component was recovered by a delegate of the entity and returned to the team. However, the problem did not end there.
During the lap exiting the pits, another inner wheel cover also detached from the Canadian’s car. The stewards assessed that the situation represented a significant risk, mainly due to the possibility of the piece hitting another car or even a person on the track.
In its official statement, the FIA highlighted that, ‘although made of carbon fiber, this piece is still potentially dangerous if it hits another car or a person.’ The FIA also emphasized that Stroll was unaware of the problem while driving.
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The stewards also informed that Aston Martin admitted failures in the car inspection process before going out on track. According to the team, there was an error in checking the correct fastening of the safety devices responsible for securing the parts on the wheels. The team also stated that it will conduct a complete review of its internal procedures.
As a consequence, Aston Martin received a fine of 7,500 euros for the incident involving Stroll. The penalty came shortly after another sanction of 5,000 euros was applied for an unsafe release of Fernando Alonso in the pits, when the Spaniard crossed the path of Franco Colapinto’s car from Alpine.
The FIA justified the higher amount of the second fine by highlighting that one of the parts came off while the car was already on the track. According to the stewards, this factor increased the potential risk of the occurrence during the qualifying session for the Canadian GP.
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