Technical problems for Max Verstappen’s RB20, forced to end the second free practice session of the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix early. Horner explains what happened to the Dutchman’s car
June 8, 2024
THEThe journey of Formula 1 continues at full speed with the ninth round of the season, the Canadian Grand Prix 2024. The weekend in Montreal by Max Verstappen did not start in the best way having been forced to end the second free practice session prematurely on the circuit named after Gilles Villeneuve for a electrical fault of his Red Bull.
Cthat the RB20 was not a perfect single-seater had already emerged in the first appointments with the three-time world champion who had a lot of difficulty managing the single-seater, which was too rigid, when passing over curbs, in particular those of city tracks like Australia , Miami and Monte Carlo, the only Grands Prix where he has not won so far in 2024. What put Max Verstappen’s situation even more in crisis was the technical problem that prematurely ended his second free practice session, which lasted only twenty minutes. The Dutchman opened up on the radio with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase by declaring “I smell smoke”.
Max Verstappen Canadian GP
Rentering the pits, smoke came out of the rear of the RB20, confirming the technical problems. The Dutchman hurriedly got out of his car which, once the safety protocol imposed by the FIA in situations like these had been activated, was placed on stands. With no small effort the mechanics dismantled the car while the engineers analyzed the data to understand what was the cause of the problem. In the quick analysis, it turned out that Verstappen’s RB20 has an ERS failureacronym for Energy Recovery System, which is made up of MGU-K, MGU-H, battery pack And electronic control units. The electrical problem should not cause damage to the Power Unit which had been replaced (except ES and CE) before FP1, both for the Dutchman and Sergio Perez, thus introducing the third engine in nine seasonal events.
Max Verstappen Canadian GP
TO confirm the fault was indeed Christian Horner. “It’s a problem with the energy recovery system. Everything will be sorted out for tomorrow, we didn’t have time to resolve during the session” declared the Red Bull team principal to Sky Sport F1. “It’s a shame we weren’t able to take advantage of the hour at our disposal, but the FP didn’t help anyone today. I don’t think it’s a problem that could affect the power unit. Tonight we will examine the ERS system and understand the root of the problem. As for the curbs, the car seems to have performed well in the few laps done, but there is a lack of data to understand the updates. We only have Max’s feelings. Perhaps Mercedes can also be fast, beyond Ferrari and McLaren. We haven’t seen the car in dry conditions, we hope to see it tomorrow. The weather was strange because it often changed between wet and dry and we didn’t fully experience both conditions.”
