Breaking news
Formula 1 Bahrain GP
Renault engine blameless in Verstappen's Bahrain Q1 crash
Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner has confirmed there was no car or engine issue when Max Verstappen crashed out in the first segment of qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Apr 13, 2018, 10:43 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Instead, Horner said the accident was a result of the Dutchman’s foot jumping on the throttle pedal as he ran over the kerbs.
After the accident, Verstappen had complained of a 150bhp power surge, prompting cynical responses from some of his rivals.
Fellow Renault power unit user Nico Hulkenberg said: “I would like to know where the 150 horsepowers are coming from. Does he have a party mode as well?
"I haven't experienced that. It doesn't change from one lap to another. Let me put it like this – that’s Greek to me.”
Although some observers suggested that there may have been a technical problem – possibly a sticking throttle – Horner insisted that there were no mechanical issues, and that the kerbs were the trigger.
“It wasn’t a stuck throttle,” Horner told Motorsport.com. “I think when he got high on the kerb there was an oscillation on the foot. It was fairly obvious.
“The gearshift around there has always been a bit lumpy, and I think it was a combination of that, pushing flat out, up on the kerb, oscillation with the foot – put a lot of stuff together, that’s what happens.
"So there’s nothing to read into it.”
Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul confirmed that the French manufacturer had found nothing wrong in its investigations.
“The engine has done exactly what the throttle was asking, it was very clear,” he told Motorsport.com.
“It’s a determinist thing, cause and consequence, when you press on the throttle, something is happening to the engine. The engine has reacted in exactly the same way that it was supposed to react.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Chinese GP: Hamilton beats Raikkonen by 0.007s in FP2
Next article Ricciardo "struggled" with ultrasofts in China
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
18 h
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Max Verstappen explains why he’s so good in the rain in Brazil
More from
Red Bull Racing
Tsolov named Red Bull, Racing Bulls reserve driver after missing out on 2027 F1 race seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
11 h
Tsolov named Red Bull, Racing Bulls reserve driver after missing out on 2027 F1 race seat
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 9 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: ECR
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
9 h
Toto Wolff reflects on Mercedes’ non-title years: ‘We weren’t complete losers’
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 10 h
Renger van der Zande moves to IMSA’s LMP2 class full-time with Tower Motorsports
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
10 h
Nick Sanchez will compete for 2027 NASCAR Truck title with McAnally-Hilgemann
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe