• Bahrain Grand Prix

Spark plug was to blame for Vettel's power loss

ESPNF1 Staff
March 15, 2010 « Press slam 'Bore-rain GP' | »
Sebastian Vettel's problem was due to a spark plug © Getty Images
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Red Bull has revealed that the problem that cost Sebastian Vettel near certain victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix was in fact due to a faulty spark plug rather than a cracked exhaust.

Vettel had been controlling the race when his car lost power and fell behind the Ferrari's of Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. The team initially reported the problem was due to a cracked exhaust, but after performing a post mortem on the car, realised a spark plug was to blame.

"Our earlier race report stated that Sebastian Vettel's loss of power on lap 33 of the Bahrain Grand Prix was due to an exhaust problem," read the team's statement. "However, further investigations by the team have proven that the loss of power was actually due to a spark plug failure and not the exhaust."

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