With the Japanese Grand Prix ahead, Red Bull Racing hopes that the brake problems on Max Verstappen’s car are finally a thing of the past. Just under a fortnight ago, the Dutchman had to retire his car early in the race due to a problem that now appears to have presented itself as early as Saturday. However, the Austrian team did not immediately intervene to solve the brake problem.
Verstappen said there were already indications of brake problems on the day of qualifying. “Yes, I think we saw already some signs on Saturday where things were maybe not looking like they should have done. Of course then now in hindsight, yes you can say that it was coming from the brake caliper, but yes we couldn’t find any, let’s say fault, with the car,” Verstappen said.
The world champion also indirectly admits that the failure in Melbourne was caused by a mistake made by the team itself. “I mean it’s always bad to retire. But, of course, when you have a fault in maybe the build specification [of the part], then it’s a bit worse. So yes, we’ll just move on from there and learn from it and hope it doesn’t happen again. Normally it shouldn’t.”
Problem solved according to Verstappen
At the Japanese Grand Prix – a race Verstappen has won with supremacy over the past two seasons – the Dutchman assumes the braking problems are definitely a thing of the past. So he is not worried about a repeat of Australia: “No, no,” is the clear answer to that.
