After forty-three races Max Verstappen did not see the checkered flag. The last time happened two years ago, again in Melbourne, then a long streak with 35 victories and two world titles. In this scenario, a stop is more newsworthy than yet another victory.
There are two aspects that made Red Bull's Sunday special (negatively): the technical failure that killed Verstappen after 4 laps of the race, and the awareness that it would not have been an easy race for Max anyway. The RB20 in Melbourne did not express itself on the standards seen in Bahrain and Jeddah, on Friday the pace was not up to the level of Ferrari and McLaren, but it had already happened on other occasions when the night work on the simulator in Milton Keynes had then put things back in order .
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, on the wall after retiring
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The qualifying result partially satisfied the Red Bull technicians: the analysis of the data revealed the great work done by Verstappen, to the point that the engineers modified the aerodynamic load again before the race (using only the parts allowed by the regulations ) asking Max to complete four laps before settling on the starting grid to evaluate the behavior of the car. “He told us that he was satisfied with the balance of the car,” Christian Horner then confirmed. However, the problem with the brake caliper did not allow us to have a definitive outcome.
Not everything went smoothly for Sergio Perez either. In the first stint Checo's pace was not exceptional also due to traffic due to an unfortunate start which saw him slip behind Russell's Mercedes.
When he switched from the medium tires to the hard ones, Perez accelerated, lapping at Sainz's times, but while he was in a tussle with Alonso, two of Fernando's tear-off visors got stuck under the floor of his car.
“It was really unfortunate – explained Horner – because the visors got stuck in an area which caused a significant loss of load, around 20 points. You can clearly see how after overtaking Fernando the car was no longer as efficient as before, and the degradation of the tires was accentuated. In the end we were never able to see whether the problems seen on Friday were behind us or not, Max made a good start and immediately moved out of the DRS zone compared to Sainz, but then we know how it went.”
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
“Having said that – continued Horner – the Ferraris were very fast this weekend, they deserved the victory and Carlos drove an excellent race. On a track with very particular characteristics they managed the graining very well, but I remain convinced that we would have defended ourselves in the race, I'm just sorry we weren't able to have the verification we were waiting for.”
The RB20 is destined to remain the reference single-seater for a long time to come, but the Melbourne weekend brought out some small critical issues. “When we race on tracks where there is graining, the Ferrari confirms itself as very strong – explained Horner – it already happened in Las Vegas last year, and it was confirmed again this weekend. We know it's an area where we need to improve.”
Last year Red Bull arrived at Suzuka after the defeat in Singapore, now they will get there after the setback in Melbourne. “Yes, Sainz again – Horner recalled smiling – Carlos is the only driver who has beaten Red Bull in recent times, but I think Max will arrive in Japan sufficiently recharged. Suzuka is a fantastic track where we have always performed well. It's Honda's home circuit and the riders love racing there. So we can't wait to get back on track.” The only good news of the day at Red Bull came from Honda itself, the power unit removed from Verstappen's car on Friday evening will be recovered.
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