Lightning strikes twice for F1 driver as unseen Brazil GP retirement explained
An incredibly rare F1 issue struck one driver for the second time in his career in Brazil.
Valtteri Bottas’ race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was over before it even began due to an extraordinary repeat of an incredibly rare Formula 1 issue.
Bottas was wheeled off the grid before the start of Sunday’s race at Interlagos and was officially retired by Cadillac before the lights went out.
After completing his reconnaissance laps to the grid, Bottas wanted to change his tyres when Cadillac encountered a major problem.
Cadillac mechanics were seen struggling to remove the right-rear wheel on Bottas’ car on the grid in the build-up to the race.
It turned out that a cross-threaded wheel nut ultimately prevented Bottas from starting the race.
Bottas’ car was removed from the grid and returned to the garage, where it reportedly took Cadillac six hours to get the wheel off.
“It’s sad that we were unable to start the race today,” Bottas said. “Before the lap to the grid, we tried to change the tire but couldn’t get the right rear wheel nut off.
“We’re not sure what caused it but we will learn from it and hopefully not face a similar issue again. At least yesterday we were able to demonstrate some decent pace at times. We’ll regroup ahead of the final races and focus on ending the season on a positive note.”
Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkowski added: “It was a challenging day, starting with a cross-threaded wheel nut on Valtteri’s car on the laps to the grid, which unfortunately forced us to retire the car before the start.
“It is a frustrating end to a triple-header and I want to thank Valtteri and the garage crew for their relentless efforts. We’ll investigate the issue to ensure we don’t suffer a repeat.”
While the issue is extremely rare, remarkably, it was not the first time Bottas has had a race ruined by the problem.
Bottas was forced to retire from the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix when a wheel nut machined onto the axle of the Finn’s Mercedes during a pit stop.
"The nut was damaged to the point where it was never going to come off so we had no option but to park the car," Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin explained at the time.
It occurred a week after a suspension failure sent Bottas crashing out of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Bottas is fighting to keep his seat at Cadillac, with the American team currently weighing up whether to replace him with Colton Herta.
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