James Vowles has revealed a Mercedes pit crew member’s injury during the Mexican GP, with the person suffering slight burns.
Valtteri Bottas pitted twice during the race, and both were slow stops. One of his stops was incredibly slow, and a déjà vu of the infamous Monaco pit stop earlier this year.
Mercedes tried their best to send him out fast, but the wheel was stuck on its axle. The gunman on the front-left side of Bottas’ car gunned the tyre nuts on again, and then repeated the entire thing. This is the usual process of the pit stop procedure, and goes a long way to depict the incredible job the crew does.
Vowles revealed a Mercedes pit crew member’s injury during the Mexican GP, and said that he bravely risked it for his job.
“The gunman put his hand into the wheel and effectively brute-forced it loose off the axle and burned himself slightly in doing so,” he said. “It was a brave action by him.”
Mexican fail
Mercedes had a terrible day in Mexico, and conceded more ground to their rivals. Red Bull hold all the cards heading into the four races that remain.
Vowles said that Mercedes was confident heading into the business end of the season, and assured that they would give it their all.
“This championship, and trust us we have been in the lead of it sufficiently, with a points gap, it’s never over until it’s over,” he continued.
“One DNF for both for ourselves or Red Bull would completely change how this championship forms itself at the end of the season, and ultimately the points gap is tiny.
“We’ve outqualified Red Bull at a track where they were stronger… across the last few races, even at tracks that perhaps don’t suit us as much; we can be there or thereabout.
“Despite this punishing triple header, (we) are pulling in closer than I have ever seen before… It’s a bonded team, a team that’s here to do one goal, which is to win both the championships,” he concluded.
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