Red Bull demands “apologies” from engine supplier Renault after Verstappen’s retirement
The end of the cycle is seriously complicated between the Austrian team and the French camp, following a new engine failure!
1/2. The ratio is respected. As since the Austrian Grand Prix, one of the two Red Bull cars retires before the finish due to a mechanical problem. Worse, in these last four retirements, three are the fault… of the Renault engine. After an exhaust issue at the Red Bull Ring and a first power loss for Ricciardo in Germany, here’s a second one at the Hungaroring, this time for Verstappen. A new difficulty with the MGU-K that stands out.
Launched in pursuit of the Mercedes and Ferrari, the young Dutch driver, then in fifth place, was forced to pull his RB14 to the side of the track as early as the sixth lap. Annoyed by these recurring engine problems, Max Verstappen did not keep his cool this time in a heated radio exchange with his engineer, the transcription of which is as follows:
« Dude, seriously? I can’t keep going? I don’t care if this f****** engine blows up again. It’s a f****** joke, all this f****** time. Honestly, it’s s***. »
It must be said that the 20-year-old driver hasn’t been spared, suffering a fourth retirement this season due to a technical issue, after experiencing a differential failure in Sakhir and a brake problem in Silverstone.
« Things shouldn’t happen like that, whether for me or Daniel » indicated after the fact the aggrieved driver. We were also the slowest on the straight. Frankly, it’s hard to accept: I felt good with the car. I was angry on the radio. But it’s really a shame to have been beeped! It would have been better if it hadn’t been censored. »
I’m honestly very disappointed, just like the rest of the team and our fans. Valuable points are just thrown away. It’s frustrating to go into the summer break like this, but hopefully we will be back stronger #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/z7UWTJas9S
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) 29 juillet 2018
Live from the pit wall with the Sky Sports F1 commentators, Christian Horner stated, not without irony, that he wasn’t really surprised by this latest retirement.
« We are paying many millions of euros for these so-called first-class engines. You can see very clearly in which direction things are going. »
Decided since June 19, before the French Grand Prix, the divorce of this 11-year marriage is taking a bad turn. The context does not help to calm the situation: never before had a Red Bull retired due to an engine problem before the French Grand Prix. What about reliability, with this message for the managing director of the Renault Sport F1 Team:
« I am waiting for Cyril Abiteboul to come and present his apologies to us. »
A chance of victory that vanishes
The difficulties encountered by Max Verstappen are all the more frustrating because this weekend was an opportunity to set the record straight on a winding track, which was supposed to favor the Austrian car. Curiously, the rain did not help the Dutchman (7th in Q3) and his teammate, who was out by Q2 (13th). But Daniel Ricciardo still finished the race in fifth place… after dropping to 16th at the end of the first lap, due to being clipped by Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber. The Monaco-winning driver had a challenging first stint due to vibrations on the front-left tire.
Daniel Riccardo still blossomed afterwards, climbing up to 5th place. His end of the race was marked by his confrontation with an under-pressure Bottas, who had just broken his front wing on Vettel’s Ferrari.
« Before the incident, I knew he had some damage. I was eventually able to pass him. But he obviously went too far ahead before! I couldn’t see his car, which was in my blind spot. Fortunately, I didn’t spin out! I’m happy to have scored points and maximized my result. »
Badger bites back in Budapest 🇭🇺 See how the #HungarianGP played out 🏁👉 https://t.co/K1YJY1Nmnj #F1 pic.twitter.com/4zyLPGsKG1
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 29 juillet 2018
In the end, this disappointing result further widens the gap in the drivers’ and constructors’ standings. Daniel Ricciardo is now 95 points behind Lewis Hamilton, and the leader Max Verstappen is 103 points ahead!
Among the constructors, Red Bull is in no man’s land, 122 points behind Mercedes, 112 behind Ferrari… and 141 points ahead of Renault, the former partner.
