The mystery behind Max Verstappen's unexpected technical withdrawal from the Melbourne race, marking his first such incident in two years due to a jammed rear brake and a subsequent fire, continues to grow. Brembo, a top Formula 1 brake provider, has refuted claims that the issue stemmed from a fault in their components, suggesting instead that it was "probably" a result of how the car was set up.
This incident comes amid whispers that Red Bull had switched from their previous brake supplier, Carbon Industrie, to Brembo over the off-season, especially as Charles Leclerc faced similar brake troubles with his Brembo-fitted Ferrari at the Bahrain race.
Dr. Helmut Marko, a consultant for Red Bull in Formula 1, shared with Speed Week, "We still have to find out exactly what caused Max's brake defect, as the majority of the team is still scattered around the world after Melbourne."
Amid this backdrop, there's growing speculation that the brake failure might be linked to the ongoing internal discord within Red Bull, highlighted by the controversies surrounding Christian Horner and a struggle for control within the management.
Former F1 racer Giedo van der Garde shared his insights on the DRS De Race Show podcast, suggesting, "It was either a mechanical problem with the brake, or someone forgot to do something. It's certainly strange that this happened right now at Red Bull," he commented, clarifying, "I'm not saying it's sabotage - certainly not. But when there are internal messes in a team like that, people can make mistakes.
"We haven't seen it in two years. It was such a well-oiled machine. Everything ran so perfectly. So does this have something to do with what's going on at the top?" van der Garde posed the question, hinting at a possible connection between the team's internal issues and Verstappen's recent race failure.
