RED BULL PROMISES INQUEST INTO BAHRAIN DOUBLE RETIREMENT
Team boss Christian Horner says fuel issues will be fixed by this weekend’s second round
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner said that the late retirement of both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez was the title-winning team’s “worst nightmare” in the Bahrain Grand Prix
Verstappen had been battling for the win with Ferraris Charles Leclerc when his machine was struck by a suspected fuel pump issue with two laps to go. One tour later, the same problem afflicted Perez’s car and he spun to a halt. It meant the squad missed out on a potential 30 points in the constructors’ championship
Horner told Sky Sports: “I can’t remember the last time that happened to us, but it’s obviously your worst nightmare. It’s hugely disappointing, not only to lose a podium with
Max but on the last lap to lose a podium with Checo as well. [It was] a brutal finish, that race for us. What looked like a decent haul of points suddenly evaporated in the last couple of laps there.”
Horner said that a rapid investigation would take place before the next grand prix of the season in Saudi Arabia this weekend. He said: “We just need to get the cars back, get the fuel system apart and understand, because we know the fuel was in there. That’s frustrating. We just need to get on top of this issue and fight back next weekend.”
Despite the reliability worries, Horner said he had been encouraged by the speed of the chassis, which had helped Verstappen to fight for first place in the middle of the race.
“I think the positive side for us is we had a very competitive car,” said Horner. “I don’t think we had quite the pace of Charles today, but some great racing between Max and Charles. We were fighting for the race win at different points. It’s a long, long season, 23 races. We’ll get this behind us and get stuck into the next event.”