Reliability troubles hit Silverstone practice - Williams, Mercedes, Red Bull and more struggle to warm up in Britain
Published by Christine
The last two circuits have been very tough on the new power unit components, and the high speed nature of Silverstone is pushing the cars to the limit. In two free practice sessions, we saw several reliability failures, including a high profile stoppage at Williams. Susie Wolff was making her practice debut for the team, but only completed four laps before the car drew to a halt out on track.
Pastor Maldonado managed only two installation laps in FP1, before his Lotus stopped at the end of the pit lane and had to be recovered. He took no further part in the session and didn’t set a time. Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull had gearbox troubles although he still ended up fourth fastest in the morning.
Lewis Hamilton managed to set the fastest time in second practice but when starting the long run preparation, his Mercedes also stopped out on the circuit with an engine problem. Valtteri Bottas, having had his car patched up after Susie’s adventure, suffered an odd problem when the engine cover exploded outwards, showering the track in carbon fibre. Williams appear to have suffered the most throughout the day but the wear and tear on these cars is starting to show.
