Compensation weight and “uncharacteristically strong” Chevrolets to blame for Lada’s struggles

The three Lada drivers had a very difficult day at Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina, as all three drivers failed to make it through to Q2. The Russian cars ended up in 13th, 14th and 15th place with Hugo Valente, Nicky Catsburg and Gabriele Tarquini respectively.

The team says a combination of the compensation weight – set at 50kg – and the strong performances by Chevrolet on this track caused the yellow cars to slip down the order and out of Q2. Valente was knocked out of the second segment right under the flag, but the considerable 0.2s gap from 12th-placed James Thompson means the Vestas are really struggling.

Catsburg said he was forced to overdrive the car in order to find some lap time, which still wasn’t enough to help, whereas Gabriele Tarquini had engine issues. His power unit had to be replaced, and work finished just before qualifying. Still, after the MAC3 challenge, the Italian complained about a lack of power and acceleration.

The 50-kg compensation weight comes from a remarkable weekend in Russia, where the yellow cars scored a double win at home.