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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An angry Max Verstappen retired early from the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Red Bull driver suffering a serious mechanical failure on the fourth lap of the race, suffering his first retirement since Albert . Park in Australia in 2022.
Minutes after his retirement, he appeared on television coverage of the race in a heated argument with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Verstappen had won the first two F1 races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and was on a nine-race winning streak.
“My right rear brake basically stuck when the lights went out,” Verstappen said. “The temperatures (in the car) continued to rise to the point that it caught fire. “They (the mechanics) could see what was happening but they don’t know what caused it.”
“We had a lot of good races in a row, I knew the day would come when you would end up having a DNF and unfortunately that day was today.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton suffered another early retirement due to engine failure on lap 17.
Three-time F1 world champion Verstappen started the race from pole but was passed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on lap two at turn nine. Verstappen continued behind the Spaniard, but just two laps later smoke was sprayed from the rear of his car, followed by fire, forcing him to retire from the race.
The 26-year-old had previously complained on team radio about “losing the car.” Shortly after, smoke appeared at the rear of Verstappen’s car and he was forced to pit, with no hope of returning.
Verstappen won 19 races last season, the most in F1 history, on his way to a third consecutive title.
“It’s a shame because the car felt very good on the laps on the grid, but you can’t control these problems and these things happen,” Verstappen said.
“Of course I’m disappointed that we didn’t finish the race because we had a good chance of winning and the car has been improving throughout the weekend.”
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Formula 1 AP: