Plastic bag ruins Sergey Sirotkin's debut

Opposite trajectory for the two rookies in the field this Sunday in Melbourne. If Charles Leclerc took his Sauber C37 to the finish in thirteenth position, Sergey sirotkin was forced to stop his Williams FW41 – Mercedes at the side of the track after only four short laps.

The cause was a problem with the brakes and a pedal "on the floor" for the Russian, who did not have the opportunity to have a peaceful weekend in Australia. “It didn’t go as planned and I’m not even talking about results, admits the SMP Racing protégé.

I'm talking about the learning we didn't have. It's a bit of a shame and I'm quite disappointed because it's not ideal and it wasn't the easiest weekend for me. It was very important to have a good race. »

The first analyzes of Grove's stable highlight an external element that came to ruin Sirotkin's debut. « Our provisional analysis is that a plastic bag was collected on the circuit, completely blocking the brake cooling, admits Paddy Lowe, Williams technical director.

The right rear caught fire and ultimately caused a hydraulic system failure. His brake pedal went to the floor. It's unfortunate because it was his first race F1 and what he really needed to do was build up the miles so he could arrive at the second Grand Prix with race experience, a goal we failed to achieve today. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Australian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Melbourne, in issue 2158 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.