Haas misses out on massive points opportunity after wheel errors

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Troubles and misfortune dealt a cruel blow to the Haas F1 Team's chances of hauling in a solid capital of points in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were hit with apparent loose wheel failures within a lap of each other and shortly after their respective pit stops, suggesting an untidy job by the Haas crew, with very dire consequences.

The Haas due was running comfortable in the points in fourth and fifth position before heading for their mandatory pitstop.

While team has yet to diagnose the exact reason for the mishap, television footage clearly showed the cars being released while mechanics were frantically waving their hands, signaling a clear problem.

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Needless to say, the pair's demise was a heartbreaking moment for both team and drivers.

"A very tough one to swallow for the whole team with both cars not finishing in such good positions and with so much anticipation coming up to this race," Magnussen told Sky.

"It's just so heartbreaking to finish like that. We'll get on top again and we'll fight back and do it all again."

Haas' impressive pace throughout the weekend, which confirmed the team's current 'best of the rest' was what Grosjean preferred to focus on immediately after his retirement, although he was at a loss to understand the wheel issues.

"Today I had great pace. I'm sure I could've stayed a bit more with the frontrunners if I'd been in front of Kevin early in race," said Grosjean.

"We will analyse everything and understand what happened and come back strongly as we always do.

"Right now everyone is down and we need to analyse if it's a problem with the guns or a problem with the mechanic.

"We didn't have any problems in winter testing so it's strange. It's a lot of points lost today but if we can repeat that performance we'll forget this very quickly."

Unfortunately, to add insult to the team's painful injuries, the Melbourne stewards hit the team with $10,000 fine - $5,000 for each driver - judging that both cars "released in an unsafe condition", but noted that "the team ordered the car stopped immediately, and the driver stopped as fast as he safely could".

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.