Max Verstappen drops out in the early stages of the Australian Grand Prix
The reigning world champion driver has just suffered a setback he is no longer used to. Max Verstappen's Red Bull experienced brake problems just a few laps after the start. This is his first retirement since Australia 2022.
It happened two years ago, in 2022, during the Australian Grand Prix already, Max Verstappen had to retire due to a fuel leak issue. It hadn’t happened in 43 races.
This afternoon in Melbourne, Max Verstappen retired after only a few laps. Starting from the front at the beginning of the Australian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver did not manage to pull away after the first lap and found himself within the DRS zone of Carlos Sainz.
Overtaken by the Ferrari as early as Lap 2, Max Verstappen complained about a difficult car, and a few laps later, smoke appeared on the rear right brake duct of the RB20.
Max Verstappen had to come back to the pits to retire, with the rear right brake on fire and even exploding just before reaching his box.
Max Verstappen systematically finished the Grand Prix races since Australia 2022. In 2023, the Dutch driver had not experienced any retirements, and only 2 in 2022.