While Max Verstappen strengthened his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship thanks to his victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, the situation was less positive for his team-mate Sergio Perez who had to retire on the eighth lap of the race. Red Bull boss Helmut Marko explains the failure.
The Mexican, who started the race in 13th place following his crash in qualifying on Saturday (he hit the Tecpro at Turn 3 in Q2 on a wet track), was forced to stop his car due to a mechanical problem after only a few laps. As a result of this retirement, the Red Bull driver is now only 3 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
Interviewed by Austrian TV channel ORF, Helmut Marko said that the problem had been identified: “It was the gearbox that failed,” said the Red Bull advisor.
“The gearbox was at the end of its life, but it should have held. So we suspect that this could also be a consequence of Saturday’s accident, although he didn’t touch anything directly with the gearbox.”
“It was unfortunate, but you could see that when you are like [Charles] Leclerc in traffic, how difficult it is to overtake. Even for the best cars.”
For Max Verstappen, it was not the gearbox that concerned Red Bull during the race, but the temperature of the brakes, which are under heavy strain on the Canadian track:
“We kept a close eye on the temperatures,” said Helmut Marko.
“We were more concerned about the brakes. In the first stage of the race we were at the limit in terms of temperature for the discs and pads.”
Despite Sergio Perez’s retirement, the Red Bull team remains at the top of the constructors’ standings, with a 76-point gap to the Ferrari team after this Canadian Grand Prix.
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