Max Verstappen Issues Update on Red Bull Fault That Ended His Friday
Max Verstappen’s participation in the Canadian Grand Prix was abruptly ended during the second practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, following an incident with his Red Bull machinery. Just four laps in, smoke was seen billowing from the rear of Verstappen’s RB20 as he made his way to the pitlane, where he was swiftly instructed to exit the fiery car, signaling a serious malfunction.
The crisis began barely after the RB20, which was outfitted with a new set of components including an Internal Combustion Engine and energy recovery system, hit the track. The problem was later identified as related to the car’s ERS. The complication not only caused him to miss significant practice time but also sidelined him for the remainder of the day after the car was taped off, indicating a probable electrical issue.
A visibly frustrated Verstappen spoke about the early termination of his practice runs, underscoring the loss of valuable track time.
“Yeah unfortunately FP2 not many laps for me, there was a suspected electrical issue so they told me to box, and they’re investigating now. I haven’t been back in the garage yet, but I’m sure soon we’ll figure out what it is,” he stated to the press after the session, as quoted by Crash.net.
“It’s not ideal, I would have liked to drive more laps. Some other people had a few more laps on the fly, a few more laps now in the wet, so it’s definitely not how I would have liked to get on in FP2. But I think it’s more important to just figure out what actually happened, and what kind of implications that will have for this weekend or the rest of the year.”
Red Bull technicians, after assuring the car was safe, delved into a thorough investigation of the issue.
Verstappen currently leads the field, 31 points ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, despite a challenging previous race at Monaco where an unfavorable car setup and high kerbs impacted his performance
The incident in Montreal coincides with ongoing concerns around the robustness of Red Bull’s car on tracks that feature aggressive track elements similar to those that hindered their pace in Monaco. As Verstappen highlighted, identifying and rectifying these problems is crucial, not just for the current race but for maintaining his lead in a fiercely competitive season.
“We know that some tracks just really don’t suit our car at the moment,” he said following his P6 result in Monaco, quoted by Formula 1. “Some tracks that are still upcoming won’t really be that good for us, but then also some tracks will be better for us.
“We know… I think the positive thing out of this weekend is that it really highlighted out weakness, and that’s what we
have to work on.”