Ferrari F1 chief Maurizio Arrivabene has revealed the reasons behind his team's pitstop gaffe during the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend which left their mechanic Francesco Cigarini with a double leg fracture.
The mechanic was struck when Kimi Raikkonen clattered into him after being released before his left rear tyre was changed. It was Ferrari's second pit-stop blunder during the course of the weekend at Sakhir.
Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, Arrivabene told to reporters in Shanghai, "We had an internal, accurate investigation because we were hurt by what happened. We have a procedure to ensure that the pit stops during the race are done in the safest environment."
"In this case, we have three factors. One involves human control, the other involves mechanical, and the other involves an electronic device."
"What happened there, we had a mishandling and the rear left was not perfectly read by the electronic device, which then gives the green light."
Formula 1's race director Charlie Whiting inspected the team's pitstop system in Shanghai, Arrivabene explained, "We went through all the procedure together with FIA to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. It's in our interest because we care about our people before anything else."
Notably, the Reds used FP1 on Friday to practice pitstops while a debate mounts in the paddock regarding the safety of pitstops in the current era.
As for the injured mechanic, Arrivabene confirmed, "Francesco is fine. He went back to Italy yesterday so it's all under control. As a team principal, I was talking to him every day. He's at home, it's all OK."
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