Red Bull suspects that a brake-by-wire failure was to blame for Max Verstappen’s exit during the closing stages of Formula 1’s British Grand Prix.
Verstappen had scrapped with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen following the Safety Car period, caused by Marcus Ericsson’s crash, and managed to maintain fourth position.
A wide moment through Chapel at the second restart demoted Verstappen to fifth position, before he spun under braking for Club with six laps remaining.
Verstappen was able to recover his RB14 from the gravel trap but lasted only a few corners more before he was forced to retire.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner explained that the brake-by-wire failure “caused him to spin into the left hander.
“We damaged the clutch from that point and therefore the car ended up stuck in gear. A shame because he’d driven a hard race.”
Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo went on to finish the race in fifth position, having chased the tyre-limited Valtteri Bottas to the chequered flag.
Verstappen has slipped to sixth place in the standings as a result of his early exit, 78 points behind title leader Sebastian Vettel.
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