via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in action during the race REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in action during the race REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Calling Red Bull’s start to the new season a disaster would be an understatement. Last year’s Constructor’s Championship runners had a devastating beginning as both the cars came to an uncharacteristic halt just before the end of the race. Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were out citing a technical issue.
What could’ve been a great start to 2022, seems like a distant dream now. With 30 valuable points gone, Red Bull will have hard times coming back to win the Championship this year. Among all these, a shocking revelation came out that might be the reason for such a catastrophe.
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It is alleged that the cars faced issues with their fuel pump. Both Verstappen and Perez retired with identical problems with their car. The Dutchman fell down the order, whereas Perez spun out of nowhere. Moreover, Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly faced a somewhat similar situation when his AT03 caught fire mid-race.
It is believed that the problems encountered by Red Bull cars were due to the new fuel introduced in F1 in 2022. The E10 fuel had temperature issues when the car is on low tanks. While the teams like Ferrari or Mercedes have already encountered this problem and worked on them, Red Bull fell short on this.
Read More: Bahrain GP: Ferrari Clinch Historic 1-2 Victory as Red Bull Disaster Gifts Hamilton Podium
What does this mean to Red Bull now?
Astonishingly, three out of four Red Bull cars have had the same problems in a single race. What could’ve been a flurry of points for Max, Perez, and AlphaTauri’s Gasly, all go back from Bahrain with 0 points.
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A tough result to take. We need to do a full investigation, but it looks like both Bulls suffered from a suspected fuel pump issue.#BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/TJiixJJbsO
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 20, 2022
As Verstappen stated that his fuel intake was almost zero and everything just turned off, there wasn’t anything he could’ve done. Apart from fuel-related issues, the defending champion faced issues with his track-rod and steering.
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As things stand, engineers at the Milton-Keynes-based team are having a nightmare. It’s pretty sure that they’ll spend the next few days and nights relentlessly working on rectifying the technical problem. F1 to have their next race in Jeddah in a week’s time. Will this be an uphill task for the mechanics at the Austrian outfit? Only time will tell.
