Horner: To call it a disappointment is an understatement

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner struggled to hide his frustration after Daniel Ricciardo suffered a new engine problem during Free Practice 3 of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Published on 14/04/2018 à 07:18

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Horner: To call it a disappointment is an understatement

The Australian, who had already had to abandon Bahrain due to a battery problem, was forced to pull to the side of the track while the rear of his Red Bull spewed flames on the long opposite straight of the Shanghai circuit. Ricciardo contented himself with a terse “I have a problem” on the radio before watching the rest of the third free session from his garage.

« We think it is a turbo failure, this is the analysis we have at the moment, Horner reacted hotly to the microphone of Sky Sports F1. As for whether the internal combustion engine was damaged, only time will tell. The problem seems to be with the turbo anyway. ».

When asked if Ricciardo would be able to take part in the qualifying session, which starts in less than an hour in China, the main Milton Keynes team couldn't help but respond with a touch of irony.

« Considering the number of times we have had to change these engines, we are well trained. The guys are used to it. This is now the second weekend in a row where we have experienced an issue like this. Last time it was the drums. We didn't even make it to qualifying for the third race and we encountered a problem again. To speak of disappointment is an understatement. »

Red Bull uses engines Renault since 2007 and has won all of his eight titles (four Drivers-Constructors doubles between 2010 and 2013) with the Losange. Relations have been strained since the introduction of the current turbo V6s in 2014 and in light of the difficulties encountered by Renault in the hybrid era, despite an easing in 2016 with the signing of an extension of the collaboration for two new seasons.

In 2018, each pilot sees his annual engine allocation increase from 4 entire power units to 3 internal combustion engines (ICE), 3 MGU-H, and 3 turbochargers but above all 2 MGU-K, 2 batteries, and 2 electronic controls. The two other teams powered by Renault this season, the factory structure and McLaren, display a perfect reliability rate on the engine level until now.