F1: Hulkenberg suffers Ferrari failure raising reliability concerns

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The Ferrari team and its Power Unit customers have been hit by a sting of component failures in the first three races.

The latest was the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, who was forced to immediately pull over after the finish line in Australia, after suffering a failure of a hybrid unit ancillary component.

His radio messages with the team at the time:

Hulkenberg: “F**k, I lost the engine…! OK, I think it’s OK again.”

Gannon: “It’s OK to go to the end.”

Hulkenberg: “I think I lost the gears.”

Gannon: “Checkered flag, Nico, checkered flag.”

Gannon: “Mode slow, and you were three seconds behind Sainz.”

Gannon: “Alright Nico, stop the car, we need to stop the car. Find somewhere safe, stop the car as soon as possible. Then P1, wait five seconds, then P0.”

Hulkenberg: “Guys, good effort, good job.”

Gannon: “Good job. Nico, you need to do an ERS (Energy Recovery System – electrical component issue) jump out as the car is not safe. So step on the bonnet and then jump. Tell them not to touch the car. You just go on the bonnet and jump off the car, OK?