Red Bull confident failure won't impact Verstappen's weekend
Red Bull says Max Verstappen's challenge for pole position at the Mexican Grand Prix has not been derailed by a hydraulics problem in second practice.
Verstappen and teammate Daniel Ricciardo were in a class of their own around the Mexico City circuit on Friday, finishing 1-2 in both sessions, with the high altitude helping the team's performance against Ferrari and Mercedes.
But Verstappen's day ended in frustration when his car stopped out on track with an engine issue in second practice, prompting fears that he could be left on the backfoot for the rest of the weekend.
But team boss Christian Horner suspects that the issue was hydraulic related – and if there has been any engine damage then the Dutchman still has a spare Spec-B power unit he can use.
"It's a hydraulic issue of some sort, so we need to get the car back to understand what's caused it," Horner told Sky.
"Then if it is an engine change, he's still got one in his pool, so he should be alright. But we need to get the car back first of all to understand it."
Horner said it was no surprise that Red Bull was fast in Mexico, with engine performance more equalised at high altitude and the team able to exploit its downforce advantage.
"What's happened here, as I said before the event, this high altitude tends to even things out a bit," he said.
"The engines are struggling for air, the brakes, the cooling, everything is struggling for air mass through here.
"We're able to run the car in its optimum state [high downforce] and we've got a power unit that looks competitive relative to the others."
Red Bull is sure, however, that Ferrari and Mercedes will be much closer in qualifying than they were in Friday practice.
Ricciardo said: "The low fuel pace looked good, so I am relatively happy with the car low fuel, high fuel not so competitive so we have some work to do there.
"I am relatively happy, but I don't want to be naive though. I think Ferrari and Mercedes will give us a push tomorrow."
Horner added: "They are for sure going to get their party modes going tomorrow, but the question is how much will it give them at this attitude.
"Last year we missed out on pole by 1/10th. It would be great to go one better, and if Max can do it he will be the youngest pole sitter."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Max Verstappen explains what caused his race-ending F1 Dutch GP crash
Stefano Domenicali "cannot see" F1 without Max Verstappen
The hidden benefit of Max Verstappen’s new F1 deal that Red Bull wants to exploit
Who slept best last night: Liam Lawson
Toto Wolff jokes about Max Verstappen's Red Bull deal: Mercedes has him for the most important races
What Max Verstappen’s big deal means for his future, Red Bull and F1
Who slept worst last night: Oscar Piastri
Who slept best last night: Liam Lawson
Connor Zilisch records ninth DNF of rookie NASCAR Cup season: "What am I doing?"
Kyle Larson explains what he liked about challenging conditions in New Hampshire
Lando Norris made his own life difficult again - but his recovery was stunning in Zandvoort's swansong
Why Lando Norris was “surprised” to claim Dutch GP pole position
What we learned from the 2026 F1 Dutch GP sprint race and qualifying
Why Williams problems are worse than previously known
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments