Hartley tried to go non-stop after lap one error

Brendon Hartley tried to complete the Australian Grand Prix without a pit stop after his lap one tyre change due to damage he incurred at the first corner.

“The front lock into tun one meant I pitted directly after lap one,” said Hartley. “The tyre went down to the canvas.”

“I locked the front brake from the moment I hit the pedal and couldn’t un-lock. That was definitely the biggest flat-spot I’ve ever experienced in my life, there was no chance to continue.”

Hartley believes he could have completed the rest of the race without a further pit stop had he not picked up a puncture due to car damage.

“We planned to go to the end of the race on the soft tyre which I think we could have managed considering how well we managed to keep the ultra at the end,” he said.

“So that would’ve all been OK, the Virtual Safety Car would have come out at the perfect time, we’d’ve been in the mix again.

“But unfortunately towards the end of that first stint we had an issue with the rear of the car which then punctured the tyre and we lost a lot of downforce at the same time. That meant I had to slow down, take a second pit stop immediately after the Virtual Safety Car came out.”

“That was definitely the end of the race,” said Hartley. “It was a bit of a struggle after that. We lost downforce [and] we’d taken an extra pit stop.”

“With the initial problem there was still some potential to make something of the race by trying to get to the end on the soft tyre which would’ve been intesreting. But the punture was really game over.”

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