F1 Chinese GP: Hub issue behind Kvyat's Red Bull brake failure

Kvyat ran off the track at the hairpin in the afternoon session, after suffering brake failure.

His Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed afterwards that the issue was related to the rear hub assembly - and was not linked to the issues it suffered in Malaysia a fortnight ago, which saw the team revert to its 2014 specification.

AUTOSPORT understands Kvyat's eventual off was caused by the rear brakes seizing, after an overheating caliper damaged the master cylinder, which led to fluid leaking out of the brake line and ultimately burning.

"Something overheated within the rear hub assembly," said Horner. "As a result of that we lost pressure in the master cylinder half way round the lap.

"We asked him to drive back slowly without using the brakes if at all possible, but unfortunately he had to brake at turn 14 and he had a very slow off.

"It's frustrating it's happened, but all the relevant pieces are intact so we can find out what the root cause was."

He added: "Today was a one-off and can be sorted for tomorrow."

Despite the setback which cost him track time, Kvyat was upbeat that development parts introduced for China did appear to be working.

"We have been aiming to develop through this weekend, we brought some bits and pieces here that are a bit of an evolution," he said.

"All in all, I think it was quite positive, as you can see on the timesheets - it's very early to look at the timesheets because it's Friday - but still the feeling is also quite positive, I would say."