Verstappen Dismisses Concerns Ahead Of Japan GP After Australia Retirement

Thursday, 04 April 2024 at 10:45

Max Verstappen, who retired from the most recent race in Australia, dismissed concerns about suffering the same issue that stopped him in Japan.

The triple World Champion had to retire from the 2024 Australian Grand Prix after less than five laps of the race due to an issue with the overheating brake on his right rear that caught fire.

The Dutchman later explained that his brakes were stuck on, which, in simple terms, meant he was as if he had a handbrake on.

This issue stopped the 26-year-old from potentially equalling his own record of ten consecutive wins. He began his previous streak during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix and will be looking to start another one at the same race this year.

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Speaking about the issue that stopped him in Australia, Verstappen revealed that, in hindsight, it might have been what was causing him troubles with setup even earlier in the weekend.

"Yeah, I think we saw already some signs on Saturday where things were maybe not looking like they should have done."

"Of course, then now in hindsight, yeah, you can say that it was coming from the brake caliper. But yeah, we couldn't find any, let's say, fault with the car, which in a way, I mean, it's of course always bad to retire, but of course when you have a fault in maybe the build spec or whatever, then it's a bit worse."

As he told the media on Wednesday, the triple World Champion now feels ready to challenge for the win at one of F1's iconic circuits. He added that he believes the problem from Australia should not occur again.

"So yeah, we'll just move on from there and learn from it that it doesn't happen again, but normally it shouldn't."

When further asked whether he was concerned about the issue coming into the fourth round of the season at Suzuka Circuit, Verstappen replied: "No, no."