Red Bull admits a problem with the chassis
The Malaysian Grand Prix has shown, according to Helmut Marko, that Red Bull's problems are not exclusively related to the Renault engine. He hopes for a wake-up call for the teams in Milton Keynes.
After the violent attacks against Renault following the Australian Grand Prix, the Red Bull team admitted that the problems were not solely related to the French engine supplier, contrary to what Adrian Newey had stated.
Cyril Abiteboul, director of Renault Sport F1, had stated shortly before the Malaysian Grand Prix that the British engineer was a liar, asserting that the chassis was not perfect, highlighting the performance of the Scuderia Toro Rosso which was also equipped with a Renault V6 turbo engine.
Helmut Marko, the director of the Red Bull program, stated that the Austrian team also needed to do its own soul-searching: « The result in Sepang was unfortunate for Red Bull Racing, but it doesn’t hurt because there is a need to wake up in England [in Milton Keynes, the team’s headquarters], » he explained to the television channel Servus TV. « There are things at the chassis level that are not working properly. »
During the Malaysian Grand Prix, in addition to the difficulties with the chassis and the hybrid unit, the RB11s suffered brake problems, particularly Daniel Ricciardo’s car, and the Red Bulls struggled to finish the race at the back of the top 10, in 9th and 10th positions.
But the Malaysian race is also a reason for hope for the Red Bull, notably because of its surprise winner: « This shows that anything is possible. Ferrari did a good job and things can change quite quickly. We just need to focus on our issues and fix them for the upcoming races. »
