Third GP, second power unit
Red Bull arrives at qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix with Ferrari breathing down its neck and with the unusual feeling of no longer being the sole and absolute protagonist of the weekend. The SF-24s here have so far given a good demonstration of competitiveness, but it is the aspect of reliability is what makes one sleep anything but peacefully in Milton Keynes.
No full-blown trouble, at least for the moment, but a 'precautionary' attention that inevitably surprises at the start of such a long World Championship (24 GPs + six Sprint races, a record), especially on the part of the dominating team of recent seasons. In fact, on the eve of the third qualifying of the season the Austrian team decided to replace the entire power unit on world champion Max Verstappen's #1 car.
Precautionary move
A preventive choice, which originally seemed to have its roots in the passage on the curb of which Verstappen was the protagonist on Friday, at the end of FP1, and which forced the team to change the floor of the car, losing almost half of FP2. Instead the concern is 'simply' linked to the reliability of the components.
An alarm bell that could open up some glimmers of opportunity for Red Bull's rivals, starting with the red duo Leclerc-Sainz, candidates in Australia for a leading role. It is important to remember how the limit of power units that can be used during the season is just four units: sanctions are triggered from fifth place with consequent relegations to the starting grid. Finally, it should not be forgotten that in Saudi Arabia preventive intervention had also been necessary on Perez's car gearbox replacement.
#Red #Bull #reliability #worries #power #unit #Verstappen
