Max Verstappen’s Australian GP came to an end in the early stages of the race after his car caught fire and he had to retire. With this, Verstappen’s nine-race win streak also came to an end, but the Dutchman himself may have jinxed his outing in Melbourne during an interview in which he hailed his team’s strong pace.
Verstappen’s last DNF before this Sunday’s race in Melbourne was at the same track in 2022. The interviewer pointed out that while his car was fast, reliability was a concern at Albert Park two years ago. When questioned about the RB20’s durability right now, Verstappen said (as per a video clip posted on X):
“Yes, no, absolutely. I don’t want to jinx it now of course. But up until now it really showed to be a strong point of the team!”
These words came back to bite Verstappen on the third lap of the 2024 Australian GP. From the very get-go, he looked uncomfortable, with Carlos Sainz overtaking him for the lead on lap two. But the fact that he dropped out just a few minutes later shocked the entire F1 community.
Verstappen’s pre-race interview suggests he did not want to jinx it “of course.” Unfortunately, the racing gods were not in his corner, and the Dutchman was forced to watch the remainder of the Grand Prix from the Red Bull hospitality area.
A miserable day for Red Bull and Max Verstappen
Verstappen is always the favorite to win the race for Red Bull, not just this race weekend but in general. His retirement meant that Red Bull lost all hope, especially because his teammate Sergio Perez was struggling down in sixth.
Before the race, Verstappen and Perez both admitted that the competition would be a lot closer, especially because of the Ferraris. Perez, however, struggled to get past the McLarens during the race, while the Maranello-based outfit’s drivers spent the majority of the race in P1 and P2.
After a long time, Red Bull struggled during a race weekend, which was a welcoming sight for their rivals. Their dominance made the sport one-sided, so the other nine teams will be hoping for these struggles to be more of a regular occurrence as the field bunches up.
