Red Bull might be infamous for executing flawless sub-2-second pitstops on race weekends. But it wasn’t the case when Max Verstappen decided to pit during the 2022 United States Grand Prix at COTA.
The Dutchman pitted on lap 36 for his second pitstop, maintaining a healthy lead after starting P2 in the race. He entered to grab a fresh pair of medium tyres when things went haywire.
The mechanics failed to screw the front left tyre on Verstappen’s RB18 after a wheel gun failure. The Dutchman sat in his car for 11 Seconds as Lewis Hamilton passed him to claim the race lead. He also found himself trailing the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc that pitted after him.
He was furious with the incident and he expressed his fury on the radio saying, “Beautiful. F***ing Beautiful.” However, his engineer managed to cool the racer and told him just what he wanted to hear.
What did Max Verstappen’s engineer tell him after the botched US GP Pitstop?
Max Verstappen was not impressed after the pitstop cost him his race lead. The Dutcmhmans engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase however maintained his cool and helped Verstappen fight back for the win.
As soon as Max was out of the pitlane, Lambiase said, “Long way to go!” Max was however critical and told him to not remind him about that. He replied, “Max were in this together mate. Head down.”
And as soon as Verstappen pitted, his target was set on beating the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. The two had a fierce duel, but the Ferrari was no match for the Red Bull.
Verstappen would later pass Lewis Hamilton and claim his 13th victory of the season. This shows the capabilities of the car and the driver who can overcome a botched pitstop and convert it to a race win.
Also Read: Sergio Perez claims 2-time champion Max Verstappen cannot be defeated in the same car
An important win for Red Bull
Max Verstappen’s win in Austin allowed Red Bull to claim the Constructors’ Championship after 9 years. The team claimed the title one day after the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, the energy drinks company’s founder.
Max had wrapped up the driver’s championship in the earlier race in Japan. And with the win, Red Bull broke Mercedes’ dominance in the sport since 2014. Verstappen spoke about the title win and also the 11-second pit stop.
He claimed, “I’m sad but I’m also incredibly proud of the whole team and also the way they’ve operated all weekend. Of course, apart from the pit-stop but that was a gun failure and these things, unfortunately, can happen.”
When asked about what went through his mind at the moment, Max simply answered, “A lot of swear words. I was very upset.”
He added, “But immediately when you press the pit limiter off you have to keep your head down and go for it.” Many racers would give up on fighting back after a pitstop like his. But it takes a great deal of determination to fight back as Max did.
Also Read: Red Bull to launch an investigation on 5-second pitstop that cost Sergio Perez P2 in Mexico
