Verstappen’s Brake Issues Cost Him Victory in Melbourne
The start of the Melbourne race was filled with excitement as polesitter Max Verstappen reported a stuck brake. Despite this issue, he managed to hold onto the lead until lap 2 when he was overtaken by Carlos Sainz. However, Verstappen’s luck ran out on lap 4 when his right rear brake finally gave up, forcing him to retire from the race.
But it wasn’t just Verstappen’s brake issues that affected the outcome of the race. Ferrari’s impressive performance and their ability to handle front tyre graining caught the attention of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. In fact, Perez believes that even without Verstappen’s issues, Sainz would have still come out on top.
“Absolutely,” Perez replied when asked by Kosport Magazine if Ferrari would have still triumphed without Verstappen’s problems. “I think just as a team, we just didn’t have the pace today. We didn’t have the pace throughout the weekend.”
Perez went on to explain that they were struggling with tyre management since Friday and were never able to find a solution. He also pointed out that circuits like Albert Park, where the front tyres are put under more stress than the rears, are a weak spot for Red Bull.
“We were struggling early on, we could see that Ferrari and McLaren were a step ahead of us. I think we just couldn’t get the balance in a window. And there is some work to do for the coming races,” Perez admitted.
The Mexican driver himself finished fifth in the race, struggling to move up the field from his starting position of sixth. He believes that his team needs to work on their performance in tracks like Melbourne, where front tyre management is crucial.
“We already saw last year in a track like this – for example, Las Vegas, a front-limited track – Ferrari was a lot stronger than us so we just couldn’t look after the front tyres,” Perez explained.
Unfortunately for Perez, his race was further hindered by a three-place grid penalty for impeding in qualifying. This meant he had to start from sixth on the grid and ended up getting stuck behind George Russell’s struggling Mercedes at the start of the race.
In the final stint, Perez was unable to make any progress and instead fell 18 seconds behind fourth-placed Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. “Yeah, the race would have looked a little bit different to how it looked, because basically the first stint we just [got stuck] behind Russell,” he shared.
But despite the disappointing result, Perez remains optimistic and believes there is plenty of understanding for the team to do in order to improve their performance.
Additional reporting by Adam Cooper
What’s Next for Red Bull?
It was a tough weekend for Red Bull in Melbourne, with Max Verstappen’s brake issues and Sergio Perez’s struggles to move up the field. But the team remains determined to bounce back and improve their performance in the upcoming races.
Ferrari’s impressive race performance has caught the attention of Red Bull, and they know they have some work to do in order to catch up. With circuits like Albert Park exposing their weakness in front tyre management, the team will need to focus on finding a solution to this issue.
But with the determination and skill of their drivers, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, Red Bull is confident that they can overcome these challenges and come back stronger in the next race. Stay tuned for more updates from Kosport Magazine.
