"We'll just move on": Verstappen reflects on Red Bull's brake issue, quashes concerns for Japanese GP
Apr 04, 2024
Tokyo [Japan], April 4 : The three-time champion Max Verstappen said Red Bull will "learn from" the brake problem that forced him to retire from the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen is optimistic about the team's performance during the next race weekend in Japan.
After leading the first lap of the race from pole position on the starting grid, Verstappen appeared to be headed for another victory in Melbourne. But shortly after being passed by Carlos Sainz's Ferrari, Verstappen had to backtrack slowly to the pits to retire the RB20 due to smoke coming from the back of the vehicle.
Now that the right-rear brake issue has been determined, Verstappen acknowledges that there were some early signs that things might not have been right over the weekend.
"I think we saw already some signs on Saturday where things were maybe not looking like they should have done. Of course, now in hindsight you can say it was coming from the brake caliper," the world champion said as quoted by Formula 1.
"But we couldn't find any, let's say, fault with the car which, in a way, it's of course always bad to retire but when you have a fault, it may be the build spec or whatever, then it's a bit worse. We'll just move on from there and learn from it, [hope] that it doesn't happen again but normally it shouldn't," he added.
The last time Formula One visited the location was in September 2023, a little more than half a year ago, due to the Japanese Grand Prix being relocated earlier in the calendar this year. That time, Verstappen and Red Bull arrived at the event fresh from a difficult weekend in Singapore; this time, however, a similar situation is present because Verstappen is retiring in Melbourne.
The 26-year-old is optimistic that the Suzuka track can capitalize on the RB20's advantages, though.
"Every year is different. Last year we had a bit of a difficult weekend in Singapore. I think, if you look at Melbourne performance-wise, we were quick but we didn't finish the race, so that's not ideal. But our car normally likes the higher-speed corners, so hopefully we can show that again this weekend," Verstappen said.
