Verstappen and Red Bull 'miles behind' after latest mechanical woes in Australia

By Sports Desk April 10, 2022

Max Verstappen says Red Bull are "already miles behind" after the reigning world champion suffered a second DNF of the 2022 Formula One season at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman had sat second throughout the race at Albert Park and had closed the gap on eventual race winner and championship rival Charles Leclerc amid a safety car deployment.

But a mechanical failure saw him forced to retire once again after he also failed to see out the season opener in Bahrain, with the Ferrari of Leclerc leading home from Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez and Mercedes' George Russell.

It is the second time in three races Verstappen has been blighted by problems beyond his control, and he bemoaned that he cannot think about defending his crown right now.

"We're already miles behind," he stated. "I don't want to think about the title fight, I just want to finish races.

"It's frustrating and unacceptable. These kinds of things if you want to fight for the title cannot happen."

Team principal Christian Horner voiced his own disappointment to Sky Sports afterwards too, adding: "We don't know what the issue is yet. I don't think it is engine related.

"I think it might be a fuel issue but we need to get the car back and look at exactly what has happened.

"[It's] desperately frustrating. We didn't have the pace to race Charles today. They were in a league of their own but frustrating not to bag those points."

One beneficiary of Verstappen's exit was Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, with the seven-time world champion completing a second-row lockout for the Silver Arrows after his struggles this year.

"We definitely didn't expect to be third and fourth," the Briton added to Sky Sports. "George did a great job today. We'll take these points and keep pushing.

"I couldn't fight for third as the engine kept overheating. I had to back off. We bagged as many points as we could for the team and that's great."

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    Red Bull have won the last three constructors’ championships with Max Verstappen completing a hat-trick of drivers’ titles, in the process breaking the strangleholds imposed by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in previous years.

    Seven-time world champion Hamilton has endured a miserable start to the new season with his car lasting just 17 laps of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix as team-mate George Russell crashed out to leave the Brackley and Brixworth-based team 71 points adrift of Red Bull after just three races and pile the pressure on boss Toto Wolff.

    But asked about their difficulties, former Haas team principal Steiner said: “Obviously they are struggling a little bit at the moment. For me, they are a good team, I think they’re a good team. It’s just like it’s competition.

    “Mercedes was dominating for a long time and you cannot always be dominating, you shouldn’t expect that. Now we say Red Bull is dominating – it will come to an end, like Mercedes came to an end.

    “A lot of people are saying, ‘Mercedes is not doing well’ – Mercedes is still in the top four at the moment or top five, they just need to do a little bit better. But it’s how competitive this sport is and you cannot take anything for granted.

    “Obviously Toto would love to dominate the sport forever, but nothing is forever. I think it’s good for the sport and shows also how quickly it goes up and down.

    “Mercedes is still doing OK, they’re still scoring points. Sometimes you forget there are 10 teams and not only three which are allowed to win. I think all 10 should be allowed to win and those are the things you learn when you are outside of the sport like I am now.”

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    Wolff admitted after Sunday’s race at Melbourne’s Albert Park that it is “fair” to question his future as team principal following Mercedes’ troubling weekend.

    Lewis Hamilton qualified only 11th and the worst start to his 18-season career was confirmed when his engine expired on lap 17, while team-mate George Russell was seventh when he crashed out.

    Wolff, who lives in Monaco, will be on the intercom remotely throughout the race weekend in Japan – with his duties at the circuit to be divided between senior members of the Brackley team.

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    Russell failed to make it to the end of Sunday’s race after hitting the wall on the penultimate lap in his pursuit of Fernando Alonso.

    The double world champion was adjudged to have driven dangerously by the stewards and was demoted from sixth to eighth following a post-race 20-second penalty.

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    Carlos Sainz delivered the best drive of his career, just 16 days after surgery for appendicitis, to take advantage of Max Verstappen’s shock first retirement in two years to lead home a Ferrari one-two finish from Charles Leclerc.

    But over at Mercedes, Hamilton’s afternoon ended on the 17th lap when his engine expired as team-mate George Russell crashed out.

    Hamilton, who qualified 11th, has taken just eight points from the opening three rounds. His previous worst start to a season had been in 2009 when he was disqualified at the first round before finishing sixth and seventh.

    Before Sunday’s retirement, Hamilton had begun the year by crossing the line only seventh and ninth in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia respectively.

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    Last year, Hamilton finished second in Melbourne, but Russell, who was the fastest Mercedes driver in Melbourne this weekend, was only seventh when he crashed.

    Wolff, who has been team principal at Mercedes since 2013, was asked if he should remain in his role.

    “As a corner of this business, I need to make sure my contribution is positive and creative so I would be the first one to say if somebody has a better idea, tell me because I am invested to turn this team around as quickly as possible,” the 52-year-old replied.

    “We have not swallowed a dumb pill since 2021. We don’t understand some of the behaviours of the car and in the past we would.

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    “The big difference is, this is my job and if you ask the manager question, I cannot go to Chelsea or Liverpool or over to Ferrari.

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    Mercedes arrived for the new season armed with a car that they thought would enable them to return to the front. But the Silver Arrows are now behind not just Red Bull, but Ferrari and McLaren in the pecking order, too.

    An honest Wolff continued: “We started this season in the belief that this car was better than last year.

    “Everything I have done before, in finance and investment, you know which screws to turn and you know sometimes it takes time.

    “Here, I don’t think we are missing things. It is just a complication that is happening with the car that we cannot see, and it is like an on-off switch.

    “You see the progress that McLaren and Ferrari have made, so on one side, I want to punch myself on the nose. We have got to really dig deep because it is brutally painful.”

    Despite his poor weekend in Melbourne, Hamilton was upbeat. His pain perhaps soothed by Ferrari’s impressive display at Albert Park.

    “Surprisingly I feel pretty good,” said Hamilton, with Wolff also admitting his soon-to-be-departing driver “is looking over the fence” at Ferrari’s impressive performances.

    “I’m trying to keep things in perspective because things could be so much worse.

    “I’m still enjoying working with the team. Of course I’d like to be (competing for wins) but we will bounce back. We will eventually get there.

    “It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and be focused on this one thing. But the bigger picture is definitely the focus. And also, just realising that you can’t control everything.

    “It’s not great. I’m not happy. But I’m going to have a great day tomorrow.”

    Despite the brake failure on lap four which ended his bid for a record-equalling 10 straight wins, Verstappen still remains in charge of the championship with a four-point lead over Leclerc, ahead of the next round in Japan on April 7.

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