Red Bull Racing has clarified the problems that compromised the start of the weekend for Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar on this Friday at the Austrian Grand Prix of Formula 1. According to the team’s head, distinct faults hit both cars and significantly delayed the team’s work program during TL1.
The problems emerged right at the opening of the session, when Red Bull had to halt part of its activities. Despite the setbacks, both drivers were able to return to the track after the mechanics’ interventions, minimizing the damages to the preparation for the rest of the weekend.
Verstappen was one of the first to leave the pits, but he had only covered about five meters before stopping still in the pit lane. Initially, the four-time world champion reported a problem with the RB22’s clutch and had to be pushed back to the garage. Soon after, the Dutchman again faced trouble when he stopped once more in the pit lane, this time in front of Ferrari’s garage.
While the mechanics worked on Verstappen’s car, Hadjar’s session was also compromised. The French driver had to exit the cockpit as the team carried out a more extensive intervention, causing both drivers to lose a significant amount of track time in the first half of the session.
Mekies explained that Hadjar’s setback was triggered by a power unit issue, identified shortly before the start of TL1: “You’re never fully prepared for this kind of situation, but it’s part of the game. First we had an engine problem on Isack’s car before the session began, so we had to make, at the last moment, the decision to change the engine,” he told Sky Sports.
The Red Bull team principal praised the mechanics for completing the swap quickly, although the squad had lost roughly half of the session. Regarding Verstappen, Mekies ruled out a more serious mechanical issue and explained that the fault had an electronic origin: “In Max’s car we also had a tricky start, with some software problems that kept us in the garage. But now this is resolved and we can focus on the major work ahead to prepare the rest of the weekend,” Mekies concluded.
