24/03/2022
NEWS STORY
Helmut Marko is confident that the issue which saw both Red Bulls fail to finish the Bahrain Grand Prix has been resolved.
Just four laps from the end, Max Verstappen, who had been running second and suffering a steering issue since his third stop, was told he had a problem which was critical, the Dutchman subsequently dropping down the order and retiring.
Then, at the start of the final lap, teammate, Sergio Perez, who was running third, stopped with a similar issue, thereby giving Red Bull its first double-DNF since Austria 2020.
Though Red Bull has yet to reveal the exact cause of the retirements, it is widely speculated that it was fuel supply issue.
Talking to Germany's F1-Insider however, Helmut Marko is confident that the issue has been resolved ahead of this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
"To put it simply, a vacuum in the fuel supply system caused the engine to run out of fuel," revealed the Austrian.
"I think the problem will be solved already for Saudi Arabia this weekend," he added.
"Without giving exact figures, there was still enough fuel in the tank of both cars," insisted the Austrian, following speculation that both cars could have run out of fuel having been deliberately under-fuelled.
"Basically, we were fast enough," he said of the season opener, which saw Ferrari's Charles Leclerc take pole, the win and post the fastest lap. "We were just not able to use our potential at the decisive moment.
"In Saudi Arabia we will be back at full speed and fight for victory."