Red Bull has accepted full responsibility for Max Verstappen's dramatic qualifying crash at the Austrian Grand Prix after discovering rear aerodynamic damage robbed the reigning world champion of any chance of saving the car.
Verstappen's Q3 ended abruptly when his RB22 snapped violently at the Red Bull Ring’s Turn 9 and spun into the barriers, a puzzling incident that initially left the Dutchman searching for answers after reporting an earlier loss of rear stability.
Team principal Laurent Mekies has now revealed the cause was not driver error, but a sudden loss of rear downforce.
Red Bull takes responsibility, apologizes to Max
“The dynamic of the incident was quite unusual. We lost aero performance on the rear of the car and it gave Max no chance to survive,” Mekies said. “As a team we take full responsibility for it and apologise to him.”
While Red Bull has stopped short of identifying the exact component that failed, the team's findings point to damage affecting the rear aerodynamic package. Team radio immediately after the accident also hinted at a possible issue with the rear wing.
Verstappen's own account aligned with the team's conclusions once the investigation was complete.
“In T9 there was a big loss of rear end grip and the car spun out at high speed. I had an uncontrollable spin and the wheel fully locked,” he explained.
“We lost aero performance due to some damage on the rear of the car, which caused the issue. The car spun off and the situation was out of my hands unfortunately.”
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Although the crash prevented him from completing his final lap, Verstappen believed pole position was already beyond reach, with third on the grid the most realistic outcome behind the two Mercedes drivers.
Fortunately for Red Bull, the damage to the RB22 is understood to be limited ahead of Sunday's race.
Encouraging signs despite setback
The qualifying accident capped a challenging weekend in which Red Bull also battled power unit concerns on Friday and continued evaluating its latest upgrade package.
Mekies insisted Red Bull’s engineers are still in the process of understanding the new components.
Read also: Verstappen says final flyer good enough for P3 before Turn 9 crash“With any significant upgrade, it is never simply a case of plug-and-play,” Frenchman explained.
“The real challenge is to understand the package, identify its optimum operating window and maximise its potential over the course of the weekend.
“We are still learning but today was an encouraging first step. The improved pace we had demonstrated the progress we have made with the package we have brought to Austria.”
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