Christian Horner unveils the brake issue that forced Max Verstappen out of the Australian Grand Prix. An unexpected mechanical failure led to his early retirement, shaking up the race dynamics.
Christian Horner, Red Bull team director, detailed the issue that led to Max Verstappen’s premature exit from the Australian Grand Prix F1 race.
Verstappen lost the lead to Carlos Sainz and Ferrari in the second lap before an unusual mechanical problem ended his race two laps later.
Smoke began billowing from the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull, and the Dutchman limped back to the pits, his right rear brake in flames and disintegrating.
“It’s a brake issue and it appears to have been present from the start of the race, which is why Max described it as if he had a handbrake on.”
“He experienced some tense moments on the track as the heat kept building, ultimately resulting in a fire.”
“We’ve now collected all the parts and will assess the damage to understand exactly what caused it.”
“It won’t be easy since everything melted and broke into pieces, on the track, at the pit entrance, and in his spot in front of the garage.”
“However, I trust the guys to piece together the data and parts to find the failure’s cause. It could be tough.”
Verstappen was visibly frustrated as he exited his RB20, seeing his championship lead shrink to just four points.
“A driver will always be frustrated stepping out of the car after a retirement. Even if it’s his first in two years.”
“He was frustrated for sure, but then very, very gracious with the team. The retirement hurts everyone equally. It’s about learning from it and understanding what caused it.”
“Yet, it’s remarkable that after three races, he still leads the World Championship even with this retirement.”
“There were many lessons learned today because our pace wasn’t that of the Ferraris, clearly. We would have struggled to beat them outright with Max still in the race.”
Indeed, Sergio Perez couldn’t compensate for his teammate’s absence, but Horner revealed the Mexican was hampered by damage to his car.
“He’s probably not aware, but he sustained some damage and lost a significant amount of downforce from the car’s floor when he overtook Fernando.”
“Once you have that, your tire degradation worsens. We simply weren’t good at the end of the stints, which is unusual for our cars. We need to understand why.”
“I must congratulate Carlos Sainz today, who won after recently undergoing surgery! What a performance by him and his Ferrari team today.”
Horner: Analyzing Verstappen’s Melted Brake Challenge. Horner: Analyzing Verstappen’s Melted Brake Challenge
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