Red Bull's start to the 2022 Formula 1 season was a nightmare, two DNF's at the Bahrain Grand Prix had Christian Horner label the race brutal, with Max Verstappen saying they shouldn't have such problems.
Red Bull did not look set for the win at the Bahrain Grand Prix, as despite Max Verstappen's best efforts, eventual winner Charles Leclerc was able to keep the Dutchman at arm's length, throughout the race.
But the double DNF the team suffered with Max Verstappen retiring first with two laps to go, to be followed by Sergio Perez, was a big and early hit to the team's 2022 campaign.
Verstappen: These problems should not happen
Verstappen was honest after the race and said to the media: "Of course you can always say problems can happen and you might have a retirement, but I think at this level, after already having so much information with engines and stuff, it shouldn't happen."
Speaking in the team's race report later on, he added: "We were feeling quite competitive throughout the weekend so the result today was very unfortunate for us.
"The problems started initially with the brakes, they were overheating so I had to lift off and as a result I lost pace and had to let Charles go. After that, there were still a few issues with car balance and after my final pit stop my steering wheel was locked," Verstappen explained.
"That made it very difficult to drive so defending from Carlos at the re-start wasn’t easy. The final issue looked like a fuel system problem, which is why I had to retire and it was extremely painful for both our cars to DNF. We don’t know exactly what went wrong yet but we’ll definitely analyse the data and make sure we learn from it.
"At the end of the day, motorsport is unpredictable and these things can happen, this is race one, we have plenty more ahead of us," the Red Bull ace concluded.
Sergio Perez: Unfortunate start to our season, but we're only one race in
Sergio Perez's race lasted longer than Verstappen's but the Mexican suffered the same ending, his engine dying on the final lap and sending the Mexican into a spin.
"It was going to be a great start to the season but unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get the result we were hoping for," Checo said in the team's press release.
"It is very disappointing to not be able to execute the result we wanted; we had the podium in our pocket until the last lap. A couple of laps before the end I could feel I was losing power, we knew there was an issue and we knew what had happened with Max.
"I had a similar issue to his car, at the moment we think it was a fuel system problem and basically the engine just stopped. It is tough to digest but we are going to look for the positives and come back stronger next week in Jeddah. I am sure we will get to the bottom of the problem, we are a great Team and I really believe in them.
"Today is very disappointing and an unfortunate start to our season but a year is a long time in Formula 1 and we’re only one race in," Perez concluded.
Christian Horner: It was a brutal race
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner did not mince his words describing the race and said: "It was a brutal race for us.
"It looks a similar issue on both cars, we don't know exactly what it is yet but we have to understand what has caused it."
The Briton gave further details in the team report where he revealed: "We will need to conduct a full investigation into what happened, but it looks suspiciously like the failures are related to each other and it may be an issue with the fuel system.
"Obviously we are hugely disappointed to lose the chance of podium finishes today, but congratulations to Ferrari on their one, two finish and a return to the front," he added.
"The positive side for us is that we clearly have a competitive car, I don’t think we quite had the pace today, but there was some great racing between Max and Charles.
"It’s an incredibly long season with 22 races remaining, so we need to get on top of whatever this issue was today and come back stronger next weekend," Horner concluded.
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