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Steiner explains wheel spacer was the reason behind Magnussen spin

Steiner explains wheel spacer was the reason behind Magnussen spin

22-02-2020 11:07 Last update: 11:16

Kevin Magnussen brought out the red flag on Friday afternoon during winter testing in Barcelona and Guenther Steiner has clarified what caused the spin. He explained that it was a broken wheel spacer that caused the shunt.

The Haas driver spun at turn seven of the Circuit de Catalunya having taken over from Romain Grosjean for the afternoon session. However, the crash brought out a red flag which was caused by a damaged wheel spacer caused air to leak, which explained the initial reports of a puncture. 

Steiner clarified the issue following the final day of the first week in Barcelona.

“This morning we had a small problem and we were stuck maybe half an hour,” said Steiner as quoted by Motorsport.com.

“We had a water pipe which was leaking. And then this afternoon we had a problem with a wheel rim, with the spacer, and when we went out it broke the rim and then we had a flat tyre. And then obviously to fix the car took too long for the few laps you can do at the end, so we decided to call it a day.

“The spacer between the wheel and the hub was broken, and then the wheel machined itself in bits and pieces, the air got out and the tyre went off and he went off. So that was what it was. Now when you look at it, it's a pretty simple failure, but it shouldn't happen."

Steiner assured fans that there were no other issue, adding: “I think we didn't have any mechanical issues or anything. And the car was very reliable until that happened, and it's easy to fix.”