The brake problems faced by Max Verstappen at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix may have been caused by a set-up choice.
Verstappen suffered brake failure at the Australian Grand Prix shortly after the start of the race, causing his right rear wheel hub to catch fire and retiring on the third lap.
Max Verstappen retires from Australian GP
Verstappen, who led the line from pole position, came under pressure from Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on the second lap and was overtaken after the Dutch driver wobbled at Turn 3 and fell into the hands of the Spanish driver.
Verstappen was already struggling with the balance of his car due to brake problems, which became apparent at the end of the lap when smoke started coming out of the right rear wheel, which only increased as the laps progressed.
Trailing behind Sainz, Verstappen realized his car was in trouble and slowed down, returning to the pits. Upon entering the pit lane, the right rear wheel hub exploded as the fire behind the wheel began heating up critical components and melting the metal behind it.
It was Verstappen's first mechanical retirement since the same race earlier in the 2022 season, ending an impressive run of races as the Dutch driver was closing in on winning 10 races in a row – if he could have won in Australia. Yes, that's what Verstappen did. He was supposed to match his own record set last year.
Mechanical failures are extremely rare for Red Bull, so a post-mortem investigation into what went wrong is still inconclusive, but brake manufacturer Brembo has confirmed that it is not responsible for the components used in the manufacture of the parts supplied He said there were no problems with the materials.
In a statement to PlanetF1.com, Brembo said that the cause of the problems encountered by Max Verstappen “cannot be attributed to the material or component, or to an abnormality in the component or malfunction of the material used to manufacture the component. No,” he said.
As a result, the issue is most likely due to setup choices made by Red Bull regarding the braking settings, meaning that “Brembo is not directly responsible” for this issue. This is not clear yet. Still confirmed by Red Bull.
Verstappen retired in good spirits, but team principal Christian Horner explained what happened from Red Bull's perspective.
“It looks like the brakes were on almost from the start of the race, so as Max described it, it was like a handbrake was on and that gave him a few seconds,” he said. Ta.
“Then, of course, the heat continues to rise and the building catches on fire, resulting in a fire.” [happened].
“So the car has obviously had all the parts put back together and has been damaged, but we're going to take a thorough look now to understand exactly what caused it.”
“Obviously it's frustrating when a driver gets out of the car after retiring, but I think he's been very kind to the team and all the mechanics.
“We're all one team and a DNF obviously hurts everyone the same. So it's important that we learn from it.
“We haven't had a mechanical DNF for two years, which was surprising. So it's important to understand the cause, learn from it, and move on.”
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Brembo have been able to rule out that they were the root cause of the problems that led to Verstappen's departure, but Sky F1 broadcaster and former F1 engineer Bernie Collins sheds light on what went wrong. He said that Red Bull's problem will be further complicated by Verstappen. We drove for a long time as the temperature soared.
“The first part is interesting as it tries to figure out the root cause of it…When we watched the race and listened to Verstappen's radio, there was very little discussion about brake temperatures throughout the first stint.” she said. Sky F1 Podcast.
“You don't get any real information from the pit wall that says, 'I see the caliper moving back, and there's pressure on the brakes.' There's no discussion of the temperature rise, which should be included in the data. did.
“So I hope there's something more in the Red Bull data that's not discussed. We saw [Esteban] The Ocon had a problem with a broken brake duct, so if the brake temperature goes out of control like this, [pitting] This is the first thing you should consider when it comes to your car. You don't want to make a pit stop, but it's better than a DNF or a flat tire.
“Since it exploded, there will be very little evidence left. So it will be recorded in the data, but will they be able to see what went wrong?
“It could be anything. They're going to look at what specific components are installed, what's the life expectancy of those components, and what inspections you had before you got into the car.
“Is it some sort of a mass problem with the discs and pads, or what went wrong? There will be a lot of investigation from Red Bull's side, but there are so many variables in terms of the structure. Is there – just a small bolt or nut that fell and got trapped, causing extra friction?
“There were probably a lot of signs that the right rear was too hot, but the first sign I saw was Max reporting it over the radio.
“So there's a lot of going through there to check. Because I'd be surprised if they couldn't look at the temperature and pressure beforehand and take some steps.”
“It would have been better if there was a possibility to fix it rather than the way it ended. So they would be frustrated because a lot of the components around it would be destroyed.”
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