Mercedes to "review design and material" of wheel nuts after Valtteri Bottas retirement

Bottas, Mercedes, Monaco — Photo: © LAT Images

Monaco Grand Prix

Mercedes to "review design and material" of wheel nuts after Bottas retirement

Bottas' retirement contributed to Mercedes falling below Red Bull in the constructors' championship

Sam Hall & Ewan Gale

Monday 24 May 2021 09:28

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Toto Wolff has called for a "review of the design and material" of the Mercedes' wheel nuts after Valtteri Bottas' bizarre retirement from the Monaco Grand Prix.

Mercedes lost its lead in the F1 constructors' championship with Bottas' exit coupled with Lewis Hamilton's low-key drive to seventh as the W12 struggled around the streets of the Principality.

Bottas was running in second when a cross-threaded nut meant the right-front wheel jammed onto the axle of his car, forcing him into retirement and demanding a solution from the team going forward.

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Asked if it was a human error, Wolff said: "You give me a screwdriver and I will do exactly the same thing!

"There are always many factors that contribute to such a catastrophic failure and in that case, we need to review the design and the material of the wheel nut because the mechanics that operate the wheel nuts need to do it in a way that you can't machine it off.

"As a matter of fact, the mechanic that did that is one of the best and one of the fittest in terms of pit stop speed the team has. There are always things that come together, it is never someone's fault, it is always a multitude of... it is multifaceted."

Monaco brings back bad memories for Wolff

Mercedes struggled to match the pace of Red Bull and even surprise contenders Ferrari from the start of the weekend in Monaco.

Wolff suggested the issues experienced were akin to the historic difficulties experienced by the team at the Singapore Grand Prix.

"Monaco has never been a happy place for us," he added. "We have had outliers, 2019 I believe, in terms of pace.

"But it is similar to the kind of events we have had in Singapore in the past. It is sort of engrained in our DNA where the car goes well or not and the answers are not always easy to find.

"There seems to be an inherent DNA in the car. In our case, we know where we need to optimise the car, how we need to get the tyres in a better window and you are building a car for 23 races, there will be outliers in both directions where you will underperform.

"Monaco is definitely an outlier where you need a totally different car than to, let's say, the average tracks."