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Red Bull's issues concerning reliability and weight could make the upcoming 2022 F1 Imola GP a crucial one for Max Verstappen and his team, according to Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel.
Verstappen's title defense this season has gotten off to a rocky start after two DNFs in the opening three races. The RB18 has been plagued by varying reliability issues in addition to being one of the heaviest cars on the grid.
Speaking in an interview with motorsport.com, Coronel stressed the importance of the fourth race of the season for Red Bull and Max Verstappen, saying:
“With a second place in the first race, a win and now again in second place [Max Verstappen] had the speed and that’s what it is about. But yes, that also means if you give away twice that amount of points, you have a serious problem. But in the end, you want to have a fight with two different teams. Like it was at the beginning of last year, that was of course mega. Then the dime could fall in a different direction every week with Mercedes and Red Bull. That’s what Formula 1 wants and for that, Imola just becomes crucial. I thought Red Bull would already do something about the weight for Australia, but Imola is where the biggest upgrades come. So the question there is ‘are they there or not?’”
Mercedes have already confirmed that they do not intend to bring updates to their car for the race at Imola. This decision is in line with Ferrari as well, who have opted against the same on account of it being a sprint weekend.
Red Bull have been 'too unlucky' in 2022, according to Sergio Perez
Red Bull have been far too unlucky throughout the opening three races of the season, according to Sergio Perez.
The Mexican driver claimed a P2 finish for the team from Milton Keynes after a fuel leak compelled Max Verstappen to pull over and retire on Lap 39.
Speaking in his post-race interview with former F1 driver Mark Webber, Perez lamented his team's misfortune after missing out on a double podium finish. He said:
“The start was a bit tricky. I was defending my position and Lewis [Hamilton] overtook me on the inside. He braked very late, had a really good (entry into) Turn 1 and after that, it was about getting him. My first stint was very poor. In terms of degradation, we struggled quite a lot. Then on the hard (tires), with the Safety Car, we were a bit unlucky there, we lost two positions which we recovered later. It’s a good result but unfortunately, we lost Max [Verstappen]. It would have been great to have a double podium for the team. They are looking forward (to it). We’ve been a bit too unlucky in the first few races.”
Red Bull are 49 points behind leaders Ferrari in the constructors' championship standings. They still have 20 races to find their way back into the title challenge and the first step to that could be the Emilia Romagna GP up next on the F1 calendar.
