• Bahrain Grand Prix

Hamilton calls for pit stop investigation at McLaren

Lewis Hamilton had two slow pit stops in Bahrain © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Bahrain Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Lewis Hamilton

• Teams:
• McLaren

Lewis Hamilton wants McLaren to fully investigate the problems at his pit stops during the Bahrain Grand Prix, which dropped him from the top of the drivers' championship.

Hamilton scored just four points in Bahrain after he fell from second place at the start to eighth at the finish. His first two pit stops took 9.9s and 12.2s as mechanics struggled with the wheel nut at the left-rear corner and the lost time saw him lose out on crucial points in the championship.

Asked by Sky Sports if there would be an investigation into the problems, he said: "There should be. We gave a lot of points away today, which is what championships are lost from. We have to try and make sure we pick it up from the next race because we can't afford to lose points like we did today."

Hamilton said he was also lacking race pace over the weekend.

"There weren't many positives for me today," he added. "The four points is the only positive I can take away from today. My pace wasn't great. I really struggled to look after my rear tyres through the whole day. We picked up some time at the end of the day and at the end of the stint I looked after my tyres and I got everything I could out of the car."

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh revealed that McLaren changed the mechanic on the rear wheel gun between Hamilton's first and second pit stops, but confirmed the team would investigate the problems.

"Lewis pulled off some sensational passing manoeuvres in his efforts to push his way through to the front, but in the end he was let down by two slow pit stops, both of which were caused by delays at the left-rear corner of his car. Jenson's pit stops were trouble-free, by contrast, so we'll have to investigate what the problem was with the left-rear corner of Lewis's car.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.