UPDATE FROM MAZDA:
After almost two days of what can only be assumed was excessive drinking and crying, the Mazda team made a spokesperson available for comment. Only after they were given an emotional support goose for "comfort", however. "It was diabolical, a real tragedy in the pits" the spokesperson explained, barely intelligible and sobbing, "We had the strategy nailed, everything seemed great for the first half".
The team started a solid 7th on the grid after a reasonable qualifying performance, but fell backwards a couple of places after a series of driver errors. "We started to struggle on the Medium tire in our second stint, and we knew if we made it to Lap 18 we could run softs to the end, but then it all fell apart".
According to the team, what happened next was comedy of errors. They seem to have fitted the wrong tire, giving the car Mediums instead of the called for softs, while simultaneously under-fueling the car. This resulted in a car that had far less grip, and no fuel. "We noticed a flashing light on the pit wall on the penultimate lap, but we couldn't call the box in time, so we did the last lap with 0.6 laps remaining, which meant 3rd gear, low revs all the way home."
Although on track only lapped markers made it past, the overall time for the race was sewered and the reputation of Syd and his Mazda "engineers" was sullied for all eternity. Hopefully the boffins at Mazda can work things out before next weekend in Germany, as their version of "special fuel", fumes, doesn't seem at all effective.
View attachment 919674
