60,000 euros fine for Williams in India

During the second free practice session, Pastor Maldonado had to stop at the side of the track during his race simulation due to a problem with his front-right wheel, which became detached from the FW35 following the loss of a nut. The Venezuelan driver had experienced a similar issue when a wheel came off the car two weeks ago in Japan, an incident for which the Williams team had been fined 60,000 euros.

In India, the incident occurred after the loss of a nut following a pit stop, but unlike Suzuka, this time the wheel remained attached to the FW35 – probably because the Williams team had to review their wheel retention system following the incident in Japan, and it seems to have partly worked.

The examination of the concerned parts revealed that the wheel fastening was crossed and not engaged with the wheel retention system. This is a violation of Article 23.12 of the F1 sporting regulations as the car was released in an unsafe manner. The second retention system failed to keep the wheel fastening in place. This is a violation of Article 14.7 of the F1 sporting regulations. The stewards noted that in this case the wheel remained attached to the car (unlike the similar incident in Suzuka two weeks ago) and that the crossing of the wheel fastening contributed to the fastening coming off the car, the stewards’ statement specifies.

Even though it’s the second incident of its kind for the Grove team, the stewards noted that the wheel remained attached to the car this time, but Williams F1 is still hit with a new fine of 60,000 euros: « While the stewards acknowledge that improvements have been made to the wheel retention system, the team must ensure that the wheel and attachment are fully secured to the car. The stewards decided that a fine of 60,000 euros was the most appropriate penalty in this case, taking into account that it was the second offense, but in this instance, the wheel was retained. »