F1 News: Max Verstappen Reveals New Red Bull Plan That Prevented Brake Fire Incident In Japan

Saajan Jogia | Apr 7, 2024

Max Verstappen - Japanese GP Qualifying / Red Bull Press Image

Ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen disclosed the team's strategy to avert brake fires similar to those encountered during the Australian Grand Prix. In Melbourne's Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Verstappen had to retire due to a brake failure issue resulting in a fire.

Key Takeaways:

• Verstappen reveals Red Bull's strategy to prevent brake fires after his retirement in the Australian Grand Prix due to brake failure.
• Post-Melbourne analysis attributes the brake failure to the right-rear brake pad jamming against the brake disc, leading to an early fire.
• Despite missing out on victory in Melbourne, Verstappen emphasizes the team's focus on double-checking tasks to prevent similar incidents until a new brake system is implemented.

Following Red Bull's analysis of the post-Melbourne incident, it was determined that the brake failure occurred when the right-rear brake pad became lodged against the brake disc, resulting in an early fire during the Grand Prix.

Oct 23, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Red Bull Racing Limited driver Max Verstappen (1) of Team / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Verstappen's chances of his third victory of the season slipped away, leading to Ferrari's Carlos Sainz taking the win. The root cause of the problem was zeroed down to a chain of events that got triggered when the team was repairing the RB20's floor after an event during FP1.

While the Milton Keynes outfit works on a redesign of the brake system for the long run, Verstappen has revealed measures adopted within the team to ensure the problem doesn't reoccur, at least until the team implements the new brake system. He highlighted the supervisory role the team would adopt to double-check every task performed on the car to reduce the chances of another mishap. Speaking to the media after the post-qualifying press conference in Japan, he said:

“You know, here and there it's a bit of a rush job sometimes when you want to change in between FP1 or FP2 or overnight.

“Sometimes it can be some big things that you want to change and you run out of time because of a curfew or whatever.

“Yeah, so basically just make sure that you double-check stuff because everyone is always very pressured and you don't put the blame on one single person [the change in procedures has been implemented].

“But it's always nice that there is a guy that maybe just goes after a few things and then some more things are coming. But it's just basically more to just double-check stuff in general.”

Max Verstappen - Japanese GP Qualifying / Red Bull Press Image