Verstappen retires early from the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton is also out

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An angry Max Verstappen retired early from the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, as the Red Bull driver suffered a fiery mechanical failure on the fourth lap of the race, suffering his first retirement from the race since Albert. Park in Australia in 2022.

Minutes after his retirement, he was seen on television coverage of the race in a heated discussion with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Verstappen won the first two Formula 1 races of the season the two seas And Kingdom of Saudi Arabia He had a winning streak of nine races.

“My right rear brake has basically been off since the lights went out,” Verstappen said. “The temperatures (in the car) continued to rise up to the point where it caught fire. They (the mechanics) could see what was happening but they didn’t know what was causing it.

“We had a lot of good races in a row, I knew the day would come when you would retire and unfortunately that day was the day.”

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton had another early retirement due to engine failure on lap 17.

Verstappen, a three-time world champion in Formula 1, started the race from pole position, but Ferrari's Carlos Sainz overtook him on the second lap at turn nine. Verstappen kept the Spaniard's tail, but after only two laps he was blowing smoke from the back of his car, and a fire ensued, forcing him to withdraw from the race.

The 26-year-old had previously complained on team radio about “missing the car”. Shortly afterwards, smoke appeared at the back of Verstappen's car and he was forced to pit, with no hope of returning.

Verstappen won 19 races last season – the most in Formula 1 history – on his way to a third successive title.

“It's unfortunate that the car was in really good condition 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 as we had a good chance of winning and the car was improving all weekend,” he added.

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Ab formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one