Christian Horner details true reasons for Max Verstappen’s disappointing Australian GP DNF

Max Verstappen retired on lap four of the Australian GP.

Christian Horner details true reasons for Max Verstappen’s disappointing Australian GP DNF

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen (Via: Imago)

When the lights went out at the Australian GP, it was believed that Max Verstappen would take another trophy home and achieve a marvelous 10-win streak. However, this remained a dream for the Dutchman as his RB20’s rear caught fire and he had to retire from the race on lap four. Now Christian Horner has revealed the actual reason for the fire breakout on the reigning world champion’s car.

Max Verstappen had a 43-race finishing streak, out of which, he won 36. Moreover, the 26-year-old looked to be on the run to bring home the victory for Red Bull yet again. However, smoke was spotted from the rear right brake on his RB20 on lap three, which slowed Verstappen down to challenge Carlos Sainz up ahead. Subsequently, this issue worsened, and by lap four Verstappen had to retire the car to save the rest of the bodywork and rear-right tire from burning off.

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Red Bull Supremo Christian Horner gave an insight into the issue surrounding Verstappen’s challenger.

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It's a brake issue and it looked like it was on since the start of the race which is why Max described it as like having a handbrake. That caused him to have a couple of moments as the heat was building and building and the result is a fire. We’ve got all the bits back now and we will go through the damage and understand exactly what's caused it.
Christian Horner said in an interview with SkySportsF1

The 50-year-old explained that it was a brake issue on Verstappen’s car. Moreover, the championship leader felt that the car was stuck on the handbrake as the temperatures on the brakes rose. This explained the oversteer moments that Verstappen had out of the corners as it was unbalanced. Despite this setback, Horner affirmed that the situation is now under control and that Red Bull has found the root cause.

Max Verstappen’s verdict on the situation

Verstappen was the favorite for winning the Australian Grand Prix before the start of the race. Moreover, the Austrian outfit was sure about dominating the weekend in Melbourne. However, the tone of the weekend changed quite early into the race as the Dutchman retired and was disappointed with the outcome.

Max Verstappen (via IMAGO), Max Verstappen suffering from a Brake Failure his Red Bull RB20 (via F1).
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO), Max Verstappen suffering from a Brake Failure (via F1).

After the race, Verstappen took the time to dwell on his retirement

Yeah, it’s not ideal. Of course you always want to finish the races but it’s a mechanical sport. These things unfortunately happen, but I think it’s the most important that we understand why it happened.
Max Verstappen said in an interview with F1

The 26-year-old elaborated that this is a mechanical sport and no one is invincible. Moreover, such failures keep happening, and everyone has to face such troubles at some point!

Despite the recent blow, the Dutchman is still the favorite to win the 2024 Drivers World Championship. Subsequently, Verstappen will be aiming to conquer the next race in Japan in a dominant fashion.

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