(Motorsport-Total.com) – At the Grand Prix in Australia, defending world champion Max Verstappen had to accept another bitter bankruptcy. After Bahrain, the Dutchman was eliminated at the start of this season for the second time this season, having previously been in second place, which he thought was safe.
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On the 39th lap of the Australian race, Max Verstappen had to retire his RB18 due to a fuel system problem.
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Both faults were caused by problems with the fuel system, which, according to Red Team boss Christian Horner, were not related.
Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez both retired due to fuel tank problems in Bahrain, Verstappen’s failure in Melbourne was caused by an external problem, thus making the engine supplier Honda responsible.
The solution is already ready for use in Imola
After the race at Albert Park, the damaged parts were inspected at the Honda base in Sakura, Japan. “We were in constant contact with our colleagues from HRC in Japan. They found the cause and fixed the problem,” Horner told Sky.
He also insists that Red Bull already has a solution ready for the racing weekend in Imola. “It’s very unfortunate because we’ve driven tens of thousands of kilometers without any problems with these components before, but unfortunately it caught us in Australia at the wrong time.”
After the Melbourne race, it was speculated that there was a problem with the first drop, but Horner replied: “I do not think it was because the investigation showed that something else happened. There was a problem with the fuel. Tell the tax.”
Horner: Imola important weekend for Red Bull
With the Red Bulls trailing by two defeats in three races in both World Championship rankings, according to Horner, the team wants to make a lot of points in Imola: “This will be an important weekend for us. With Sprint. The race, there are many points, we have to make sure we use it.”
“We can not stand the ever-increasing gap for Ferrari. We need to start narrowing it down,” said the Red Bull boss. Sergio Perez agrees with Horner: “From now on it will be important to get the most out of each weekend.”
“I hope we were able to understand all the reliability issues and resolve them, and there will be no surprises because the first race weekend was very painful,” says the Mexican.
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