Horner: Honda has fixed fuel line issue that caused Verstappen's Australian GP DNF
Red Bull Formula 1 boss Christian Horner is confident Honda has fixed the fuel line issue that stopped Max Verstappen in the Australian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman was running second behind eventual Australian GP winner Charles Leclerc when he was forced to park his RB18 shortly after starting his 39th lap.
After the race Horner insisted that there was no connection to the problem that affected both Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez in Bahrain, where the issue was in the fuel tank.
The Australian failure was external to the tank, and as such came under the responsibility of Honda rather than the team. The broken parts were quarantined after the race, and returned to the Japanese company’s base in Sakura.
“We've been working with our colleagues at HRC in Japan, and they found the issue and they resolved it,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“And I believe we have a fix for this weekend. It was just very, very unfortunate, a part that's done tens of thousands of kilometres without ever an issue unfortunately appeared at exactly the wrong time in Australia.”
Asked by Autosport if the issue was related to porpoising and the associated vibration he said: “No, I don’t think so. Further investigation has shown it was something else. Just an issue with a fuel line component. The HRC guys have looked at it very closely and have a fix.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Horner stressed that after three retirements in six starts between Verstappen and Perez the team is determined to score well in Imola.
“It's an important weekend for us,” he said. “I mean, there's a lot of points available this weekend, and we want to make sure that we're there to capitalise. We can't afford the gap to grow again to Ferrari, so we need to start eroding it rather than seeing it grow.”
Perez said he was encouraged by the fact that between them the team and Honda had been able to understand and address the early problems.
“First of all, what gives us hope is that all the issues, all the reliability problems that we’ve had, we understood them, and we were able to fix them,” said the Mexican.
“So from now on, hopefully there are no more surprises. Something unexpected can happen still, but we feel like we’ve got on top of them.
“That will be critical for us on our side as a team to make sure we are able to collect the points we are able to get weekend by weekend, because so far, it’s been extremely painful.”
Related video
Vettel's F1 future depends on Aston's response to 2022 challenges
Russell broke F1 floor stay due to Mercedes porpoising in Imola FP1
Albon: Collision penalty “not teaching” F1 drivers after Perez shunts
Albon: Collision penalty “not teaching” F1 drivers after Perez shunts Albon: Collision penalty “not teaching” F1 drivers after Perez shunts
Russell has "zero hard feelings" about Mercedes F1 team orders
Russell has "zero hard feelings" about Mercedes F1 team orders Russell has "zero hard feelings" about Mercedes F1 team orders
Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise
Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise Why a Mercedes U-turn couldn't deny Sauber's F1 debut surprise
Horner: "Fired up" Verstappen told me he would win F1 Japanese GP by 20 seconds
Horner: "Fired up" Verstappen told me he would win F1 Japanese GP by 20 seconds Horner: "Fired up" Verstappen told me he would win F1 Japanese GP by 20 seconds
Verstappen explains "tight" McLaren battle into F1 Japanese GP first corner
Verstappen explains "tight" McLaren battle into F1 Japanese GP first corner Verstappen explains "tight" McLaren battle into F1 Japanese GP first corner
Why Singapore’s 2023 F1 track changes should hurt Red Bull
Why Singapore’s 2023 F1 track changes should hurt Red Bull Why Singapore’s 2023 F1 track changes should hurt Red Bull
Horner: Avoiding Qatar grid penalty only positive from Perez Japan F1 weekend
Horner: Avoiding Qatar grid penalty only positive from Perez Japan F1 weekend Horner: Avoiding Qatar grid penalty only positive from Perez Japan F1 weekend
Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential F1 Japanese GP tyre wrecker?
Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential F1 Japanese GP tyre wrecker? Are Red Bull and Ferrari on back foot for potential F1 Japanese GP tyre wrecker?
The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP
The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP The signs that suggest an immediate Red Bull resurgence in F1's Japanese GP
How football has posed difficult questions for F1
How football has posed difficult questions for F1 How football has posed difficult questions for F1
Vettel in talks with Jota Porsche team about 2024 WEC drive
Vettel in talks with Jota Porsche team about 2024 WEC drive Vettel in talks with Jota Porsche team about 2024 WEC drive
WRC lists China and USA as key expansion targets
WRC lists China and USA as key expansion targets WRC lists China and USA as key expansion targets
Albon: Collision penalty “not teaching” F1 drivers after Perez shunts
Albon: Collision penalty “not teaching” F1 drivers after Perez shunts Albon: Collision penalty “not teaching” F1 drivers after Perez shunts
How football has posed difficult questions for F1
How football has posed difficult questions for F1 How football has posed difficult questions for F1
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1 The fans that offer a ray of light in an increasingly partisan F1
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023 Japanese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2023
How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip
How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip How Verstappen’s crushing Japanese GP win showed Singapore was a blip
Why the reality of F1 engineering debriefs isn't what Drive to Survive makes out
Why the reality of F1 engineering debriefs isn't what Drive to Survive makes out Why the reality of F1 engineering debriefs isn't what Drive to Survive makes out
How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation
How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation How Tsunoda has eliminated a crucial F1 limitation
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again How McLaren has revamped its F1 team to become a contender again
Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge
Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge Why precedent doesn’t favour Massa’s F1 legal challenge
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.