MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – A furious Max Verstappen retired early from Sunday's F1 Australian Grand Prix, making the Red Bull driver the first driver to retire from the race since Albert after suffering severe mechanical failure on the fourth lap of the race. . Australian Parks 2022.
Minutes after retiring, he was seen on race television broadcasting a heated discussion with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Verstappen had won the first two F1 races of the season. bahrain and Saudi Arabia And he was on a nine-game winning streak.
“From the moment the lights went out, the right rear brake was on all the time,” Verstappen said. “The temperature[inside the car]continued to rise and it eventually caught fire. They[mechanics]could see what was going on, but they didn't know what was causing it. did.”
“It was a good race. I knew the day would come when I would have to retire, but unfortunately that day was today.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton also retired early on lap 17 with engine trouble.
Three-time F1 world champion Verstappen started the race from pole position, but was overtaken by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz at Turn 9 on the second lap. Verstappen continued to follow the Spaniard, but after just two laps, smoke spewed from the rear of his car and a fire broke out, forcing him to retire from the race.
The 26-year-old had earlier complained over the team radio that he had “lost the car”. Shortly after, smoke appeared from the rear of Verstappen's car, forcing him to pit, with no hope of a return.
Verstappen won 19 races last season, the most in F1 history, and was aiming for his third consecutive championship.
“It's a shame because the car felt really good in the laps going to the grid, but you can't control these problems and these things happen,” Verstappen said.
“Obviously we had a good chance of winning and the car improved throughout the weekend, so it's a shame that we couldn't finish the race.”
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AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one
