Red Bull have had a rough start to the 2022 season with three DNFs within the first three races of the year, all a result of reliability issues within the car. The Austrian team’s advisor Helmut Marko has now claimed that the team has dealt with reliability issues and expect to be back in the championship fight this week at Imola.
At the moment, Ferrari have a massive lead in the constructors’ championship. When asked which issue of the Scuderia’s significant pace advantage or Red Bull’s lack of reliability was a greater concern for him, Marko told Austrian broadcaster ORF:
“Reliability. We had to take a lot of punishment and we are now well behind Charles Leclerc. However, we have dealt with things quickly. The problems we had in Bahrain were different from the problems we had in Australia and also different from the problems we had during the winter tests. But according to Honda, we can count on the problems being fixed before the next race.”
Detailing exactly what went wrong for Max Verstappen in the last race at Albert Park, Marko added, saying:
“Everything is fine with that. The problem was not in the engine itself, but in the fuel line. That cracked under high pressure. And we think that had something to do with the problem of porpoising. We do indeed have porpoising well under control, but nevertheless there are small movements and that is mainly to do with the way the car ‘lands’ again. We assume that this was the main cause of the damage to the fuel line.”
Red Bull have a lot to catch up in the championship points, given that they currently stand third in the constructors’ standings behind Ferrari and Mercedes. Meanwhile, their reigning world champion is now in sixth, having finished only one race of the season successfully so far.
Red Bull team boss underplays the upgrades set for the upcoming Imola GP
Several teams are ready to bring in their first set of major upgrades of the season at the upcoming Emilia Romagna GP this weekend. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, claims that no significant changes will be brought to their car ahead of the race.
As reported by Autosport, Horner described his expectations from the car ahead of the Grand Prix, saying:
“I wouldn’t say a big package planned, it’s all part of [an] evolution. And of course, being a sprint race, you get very little time to evaluate these things. So we’ve got one session, and then you enter qualifying. You’ve got to be very confident about what you’re putting on the car.”
With twenty races remaining, the Milton Keynes-based team still have a shot at their much-desired fifth world championship title.
What’s your favorite race of the 2022 season so far? Tell us in the comments below..
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