Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was trying to find the positives after an admittedly miserable opening weekend for the team in Bahrain. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were both on course for a solid haul of points in the opening race of the season before each suffered car trouble that forced them to retire at the end of the race; Verstappen two laps from the finish and Perez one.
Horner said the problem was still being investigated, but it is believed the fuel system was the culprit: "A brutal finish to that race for us," he told Sky Sports F1. "What looked like a decent haul of points suddenly evaporated in the last couple of laps."
The same challenge with both vehicles
"It looks like a similar issue on both cars. We don't know exactly what it is yet, whether it was the lift pump, the collector or something along those lines. But we've got to get into it and understand exactly what's caused it," Horner expounded.
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Verstappen had also complained of a steering issue during the race, but Horner said the two were not connected: "No, totally disconnected that. The steering issue was when the car got dropped after the final stop. I think it's tweaked a track-rod, so that's why it was slightly different left to right."
Full steam ahead for Saudi Arabia
Horner said the team must focus on the positives heading into the season's second race in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Suppose they can sort out the technical problems that hampered them in Bahrain. In that case, they can again take advantage of having one of the fastest cars on the grid to challenge for a race victory as Verstappen was doing on Sunday sitting behind eventual winner
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