Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has explained the problems that saw Max Verstappen fall away from the race lead at Silverstone.
The reigning World Champion had just stormed into the lead of the British Grand Prix when, moments later, his pace suddenly dropped as he encountered an issue with his RB18.
The problem saw the two Ferrari drivers come back past him down the Hangar Straight and through Stowe, while Verstappen dived into the pits as he suspected a puncture on his car.
However, rejoining the track, Verstappen quickly radioed in to say the feeling of instability had not disappeared – the Dutch driver then being told the team believed the problem to be bodywork-related and not critical to the operation of the car.
While Verstappen was not in any danger of retiring from the race as a result, his dramatic drop in pace meant a combative drive was required to secure a points place. This he managed, with Verstappen rescuing a seventh-place finish.
Having missed out on a potential win as a result of the issue, Horner explained afterwards Verstappen had hit some debris that destroyed the underside of the RB18 – even more critical in F1 2022 due to the floor being used as a downforce generator since the switch to ground-effect.
“He had great pace today, he was able to get the lead, was starting to build a lead, and then hit some debris,” Horner explained to Sky F1.
“It did a huge amount of damage to the underside of the car and he lost probably close to half the downforce from the floor.”
Verstappen had radioed in to say he felt a similar issue developing on the front end of the RB18, with Horner believing the damage was getting worse as the race progressed.
“I think the damage just got worse and then he went on to the hard tyres that made it even harder for him,” he said.
“But at that point, we were racing against Aston Martins and Haas and so on – just trying to pick up a few points and limit the damage.
“But then, [with] the Safety Car, we put on a set of softs and he fought like a lion. I’ve never known him to fight as hard for a seventh place but that could just make the difference at the end of the championship.”
With Verstappen not losing many points to his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez or Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as they secured second and fourth places respectively, the reigning champion was able to summon a smile as he spoke to the media after climbing from his car.
Asked about whether the issue had been…
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