Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez looked poised to deliver strong results in the F1 season opener, but both were forced out after a problem with their cars.
Verstappen , who had been challenging Charles Leclerc for the lead at Sakhir, was running second when he slowed down significantly with three laps to go. The Red Bull driver lost position to Sainz before Turn 11, and had to enter the pitlane to retire for good.
For his part, Sergio Pérez, who at that time had climbed to third position behind the Ferraris of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, complained that he was “losing power before his engine stopped at turn 1 on the last lap. “.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner suggested after the race that the problem was related to the fuel pumps, but was unable to offer a more detailed explanation until the cars had undergone a more thorough inspection.
“I can’t remember the last time that happened to us, but it’s obviously our worst nightmare,” said Horner immediately after the race.
“It’s very disappointing, not only losing a podium finish to Max, but also losing it to Checo on the last lap,” he added.
Although no further details have been received as to what went wrong within Red Bull’s fuel system, Motorsport.com has learned that the team is pleased to have gotten to the bottom of the problem and has put solutions in place to prevent a recurrence during this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Along these lines, the departure of Verstappen and Pérez caused some rumors that the drivers simply ran out of fuel. However, team insiders insist this is not the case.
Also, the fact that Verstappen lost power several laps before the finish makes it highly unlikely that the problem was due to not having enough fuel in his car.
Instead, the mishap that affected both cars is much more to do with the way the RB18’s fuel system was unable to make use of the last few liters of fuel in the tank.
