Red Bull Racing revealed the reason why Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar started the Formula 1 Australian GP without battery, facing difficulties as early as the first lap.
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Laurent Mekies , team principal, explained that the new power unit requires full attention to energy management, both in its accumulation and utilization during the race, an essential factor for extracting maximum performance.
“We thought it would be more fun,” joked Mekies. “Unfortunately, it’s true, both cars started the race without battery. It is our responsibility to avoid this situation. We were caught out by limitations in the way the battery is charged and discharged on the formation lap. If we were the only ones, it means we didn’t do a good job,” he stated.
Hadjar, who started third, lost two positions right at the start of the race, falling behind Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen managed to gain a few positions after starting in P20, but also felt the effects of insufficient energy.
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Mekies detailed that the way the drivers operate the cars on the formation lap, accelerating, braking, warming up brakes and tires, consumed a significant amount of battery, leading to the limitation at the start of the race.
“It is what it is. With the unusual behaviors that drivers need to have on the formation lap, we ended up at a point where we couldn’t reach the ideal charge level for the start, which obviously wasn’t pleasant,” the Red Bull boss added.
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