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Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) has gotten off to a rocky start in F1. In the Bahrain GP, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Perez all retired from the race. In the next race at the Saudi Arabian GP, Yuki Tsunoda could not even complete a single competitive lap during either qualifying or the race.
When talking about RBPT, Horner admitted that there were concerns over its reliability due to repeated failures. At the same time, he cautioned that without completely analyzing what the issue was, it was pointless to jump to any conclusions. Speaking to the media after the race, Horner said:
“Of course, we’re concerned about it. But I think, first, we have to understand what it is. I think once all the strip-down has been done and we understand what the issue is then, hopefully, fixes can be put in place.”
AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost too sounded concerned with the frequent issues faced by the cars this season. Speaking to the media about what happened to Tsunoda, Tost said:
“The oil pressure dropped and, therefore, we decided to stop. We don’t know yet whether we can use this engine or not [again], or what is exactly broken – we have to investigate.”
Tost was also quick to point out that the team was investigating why it was only AlphaTauri that was suffering from issues at the Saudi Arabian GP and not the senior Red Bull team. He said:
“I want to find out the reason why we are struggling with reliability. Because Red Bull aren’t having any problem.”
Tost also added that Gasly's Bahrain battery had still not reached Japan for investigation. The electrical component is not permitted aboard an aircraft and hence has to be moved through alternate methods. The investigation will take place once the battery reaches Japan. He said:
“[It] is still on the way back to Japan because [it] cannot be flown by aeroplane. The battery has to be put in a sealed box of water and is now on the ship. We need to wait until they investigate what’s going on in there.”
Reliability could be a massive concern for Red Bull
In the 2021 F1 season, power unit reliability played a crucial role in providing Red Bull with a decisive edge over Mercedes as the German team had to change multiple engines throughout the season.
If the 2022 season features RBPT having reliability concerns then it will be the Milton-Keynes squad that will be on the backfoot for the season.
