Max Verstappen faced a premature end in qualifying for this Saturday’s (7) Australian GP. The four-time Formula 1 champion crashed during Q1 and was unable to set a fast lap.
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With almost 10 minutes completed in the first phase of qualifying, the Red Bull driver finally took to the track. However, on his first timed lap, he went off at Turn 1 and hit the barrier, damaging his car and ending his participation.
Laurent Mekies, head of the Austrian team, described what he saw as ‘very brutal’. Immediately, the team began investigating the reasons for the lock-up that caused the incident.
Initially, it was suspected to be a mechanical problem such as a gearbox failure. But in reality, the problem was related to energy recovery. The software failed to read the engine speed and the movement transmitted to the rear axle during downshifts.
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Essentially, the system entered safety mode. This caused the engine brake to intervene, immediately locking the rear axle.
Braking on the rear axle is controlled by the brake-by-wire system, but the system was not what caused the accident. The problem was actually caused by ERS system modes that immediately locked the system, making it impossible for Verstappen to recover the car.
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