Max Verstappen faced a complicated weekend in Formula 1, ending his participation in the Chinese GP with a retirement, due to a problem in the ERS cooling system.
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“It was a very challenging weekend for us. Unfortunately, we had to retire today in the race because of an ERS cooling problem, something we don’t want to see. We had the same problems we faced in Melbourne, a lot of tire degradation and still difficulties with pace and grip,” stated Verstappen.
The Dutch driver further detailed the difficulties at the start: “We tried a different procedure to help with the start, but we had a problem and lost several positions at the beginning, ending up at the back of the grid. There are many things we need to analyze and learn to improve the overall performance of the car. We are not where we want to be, and this will be studied in detail before Japan,” he added.
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Despite the frustrating result, Verstappen highlighted his confidence in the team: “The team is very talented and is doing everything they can, and I have a lot of confidence in them, but at the moment we are not where we want to be. We have some time after this race to work on the car and I hope we can implement improvements. Finally, congratulations to Kimi (Antonelli) on his first victory, the first one is very emotional, and it was only a matter of time before he achieved it,” he completed.
This retirement marks another challenge for Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, who now turn their attention to the next round in Japan, in search of adjustments that bring competitiveness to the new car’s package.
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