VideosMax Verstappen has failed to finish in Formula 1 for the second time this season. The world champion dropped out of the Australian Grand Prix after 38 laps, while finishing second behind winner Charles Leclerc. That also happened to Verstappen in the opening race in Bahrain.
The engine in the Red Bull car failed after 38 of the 58 laps. Verstappen was already well behind the leading Ferrari driver Leclerc at that time. Shortly before that, he did set the fastest race lap. ,,I smell a strange liquid”, he said over the on-board radio. “Get out quickly, Max”, said the team management.
Two outings in three grands prix. Verstappen himself was very clear about it afterwards. “This is really really bad. There is a lot of work to be done,” said the new number 6 of the World Cup booth in front of the microphone of viaplay† ,,I have no idea what was going on, we’ll get the car back later and then we’ll see. But I didn’t have a chance to beat Leclerc anyway. My tires wore out way too fast, so I had to get better manage to finish the race. That was also worthless… In general they are better on the tires every race, so that is also a thing for us.”
This is what Verstappen had to say about it afterwards
The Dutchman did win the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, after a long and fierce battle with Leclerc. Verstappen had the chance in Australia to push through to second place in the World Cup standings, because Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz retired early. The Spaniard had finished on the podium in both Bahrain (second) and Saudi Arabia (third) and was ahead of Verstappen (25 points) in the standings with 33 points.
The Red Bull leader did not have the speed on the Albert Park Circuit to fight World Cup leader Leclerc. The Monegask had trumped Verstappen in qualifying for pole position and quickly pulled away from the front of the race. The safety car took to the track twice, after Sainz retired and a crash by Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel, but Leclerc did not run into problems after both restarts. Verstappen did try again after the second restart, but Leclerc defended his leading position and then drove away from the Dutchman.
Verstappen retired three times last season. In Azerbaijan he suffered a blowout in the leading position, at Silverstone and Monza the Dutchman ended up in the gravel after a collision with his rival Lewis Hamilton.
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