Image Credits - Independent
Both Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez couldn’t register a timing at the Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2022 F1 World Championship has started on a disastrous note for the Red Bull team. The defending champion, Max Verstappen retired towards the end of the race with 3 laps to go due to both steering and power unit issues on his Red Bull RB 18. Sergio Perez meanwhile, lost third position on the final lap, spinning into retirement on Turn 1.
The double retirement meant Red Bull failed to register a single point in the Constructors’ Championship – a terrible start to the season.
Max Verstappen was visibly upset with the proceedings. Speaking after the race, Verstappen explained the issues he faced during the race. “I mean, what happened at the end is obviously very frustrating but ofcourse before that, quite a few issues. First of all, the balance was off. I didn’t have the same feeling as Friday on the long run, so that was a bit disappointing.”
The reigning champion further added, “Suddenly my steering, I don’t know what happened to that, it was just completely locked and the faster I was going, I could barely steer.” “I think at the end what is the biggest problem is that we scored zero points with a competitive car. And of course, on the days when you’ve tiny issues or you’re not entire happy with the balance, you’ve to consolidate and score points and what we did today is of course extremely painful”, said Verstappen.
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez echoed similar sentiments. The Mexican drove well to occupy the third place but an unfortunate spin on the final lap meant he had to retire before he could finish the race.
A visibly disappointed Perez said, “I was very unfortunate. I lost the engine, just locked the rears completely and there was nothing I could do. It looks a very similar problem to what Max had. I’m definitely disappointed but we are a strong team and it’s a long season ahead of us, we just have to remain working as hard as possible and next weekend is another opportunity.”
Christian Horner revealed the team’s initial investigations into their technical problems. Speaking to the media, Horner said, “It looks like a similar issue on both the cars. We don’t know exactly what it is yet, whether it’s a lift pump or the collector or something similar on those lines, but we’ve got to get to it and understand exactly what caused it.”
He further added, “The steering issue on Max’s car was when the car got dropped on the final stop, we think it tweaked a track rod, so that’s why it was slightly different left to right.”
Horner is disappointed with how things turned out but is hopeful that the team will come back stronger at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix next week.
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