F1: Red Bull raring to go and will be ‘fighting for victory’ after fixing fuel issue that wrecked Bahrain Grand Prix
- Team consultant Helmut Marko says ‘vacuum’ in the fuel system was the issue at season opener
- Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez failed to finish in race won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc
Red Bull team consultant Helmut Marko has declared his team will be “fighting for victory” in Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after diagnosing the cause of their fuel problems.
The team suffered a double ‘did not finish’ in Bahrain last Sunday after their cars suffered fuel loss in the closing laps.
Marko said the problem was caused by a vacuum in the fuel system of the new-era ground effect cars, halting both world champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez.
Marko contradicted suggestions that they had run out of fuel because they were not filled up sufficiently to complete the race distance, and told F1 Insider the problem would be solved this weekend.
“Put simply, a vacuum in system caused the engine to run out of fuel. I think we can solve the problem this weekend,” he said.
“Without giving exact figures, there was still enough petrol in the tank of both cars. Basically we were fast enough. We were just not able to show our potential. We will be back this time at full speed and fighting for victory.”
While Verstappen and Perez will be back for a second crack at winning their first points of the season, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel has yet to return a negative Covid-19 test that would allow him to travel for this weekend’s Grand Prix, the team said on Thursday.