Is there more going on with the Red Bull engines? 'There’s a trend there'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
All winter the omens seemed to point towards Red Bull Racing being able to fight for the title under the new regulations. After the winter test they were the favourites for the Bahrain Grand Prix, but problems with the fuel pump made it a dramatic weekend for Red Bull. They scored zero points and are last in the Constructors' Championship.
Red Bull's drivers didn't let on about problems with brake temperatures while teams like McLaren and Williams, on the other hand, were much more bothered by this, but once in the race it was Red Bull who had trouble controlling the temperatures, to the dismay of Verstappen. Peter Windsor notes this in his afterthought on the race.
Motor problems at Red Bull?
"From quite early on in the race, Max was complaining about brake temperatures and having to nurse the brakes". According to Windsor, that's where the difficulties started for the reigning world champion. After two failed attempts by Red Bull to beat Charles Leclerc with an undercut, Verstappen was angry, who didn't keep quiet about it on the on-board radio either.
The issues didn't stop there, Windsor explains. "Beyond that we had the steering stiffening up on Max’s car, having to live with that and then finally engine problems for both Red Bull drivers and Pierre Gasly, so there’s a trend there. A very difficult day after what looked to be a good Friday and a pretty good Saturday," Windsor concluded.