Max Verstappen drops out at Austrian GP: “Clutch was broken”
Published on 09 July 2017 by Mike Motilall
Max Verstappen has once again not been able to reach the finish line, this time at the Austrian GP. Under the watchful eyes of thousands of Dutch fans, Verstappen’s efforts disappeared like snow in the sun immediately after the start of the race. A problem with the clutch caused Max to stall when getting of the line. Heading in to turn one, the Dutchman unfortunately became Fernando Alonso’s victim, while he in turn was hit by Daniil Kvyat. It is the fifth DNF in seven races for the Red Bull Racing-driver. Valtteri Bottas took the checkered flag, while Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo rounded up the podium.
Max explains what happened when the lights went out: “The clutch was broken. During the practice start, it felt weird also. It’s also not something to do with the electronics, but purely the clutch.” Regarding the incident with Kvyat and Alonso, Verstappen says: “I stayed on the outside to be sure I wouldn’t get hit. Then Alonso hit me, causing the bearing in the clutch to brake. It kept on slipping and I lost my drive.”
The Red Bull Racing-driver didn’t make it to the end of the first lap, after he was given instructions by his team to turn off his RB13 in turn eight: “That was it. We had hoped for something different, oh well. This is particularly disappointing for the fans who came to Austria.”
"It's difficult at this moment, but I'm trying to remain positive. Everybody is working hard and I don't think that there is anybody to blame. I am just having a string of bad luck lately. Despite the fact that I am of course very disappointed, it is also very important to keep working hard and that everybody keeps looking forward, because there are still many races to go. Next time better!"
It is 14:00 hrs. when the lights go out in Spielberg. Max Verstappen gets poorly off the line due to a problem with the clutch and falls way back. After this, everything goes South. Heading in to turn one, Daniil Kvyat locks up and hits Fernando Alonso. He in turn hits Verstappen, sending the youngster back to front on track. After he rejoins the pack, there is no speed in his RB13 due to a broken bearing in his clutch. The team tells him to stop the car, this is also the end of his race. The incident earns Kvyat a drive-through penalty. The Russian would eventually be the last to cross the line.
Daniel Ricciardo overtakes Kimi Raikkonen at the start for the third spot and puts himself once again in a good position for a podium finish. The man at the front, Valtteri Bottas, pulls away from Sebastian Vettel even more and after ten laps, the gap is already four seconds between the numbers one and two. Hamilton makes up for his gear box grid penalty by overtaking Romain Grosjean on lap eight and puts himself in fifth. He would ultimately snatch P4 from Raikkonen.
Verstappen and Alonso are not the only drivers not to make it to finish line. Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz also drop out. Technical issues are the culprits this time.
After the pit stops, the pecking order remains greatly unchanged. The top-five consists of: Bottas, Vettel, Ricciardo, Hamilton and Raikkonen. Grosjean is doing well by driving around in sixth in his Haas.
At the end of the race it is surprisingly still exciting regarding the victory and the final podium spot. Vettel closes the gap to Bottas but is a little over six tenths down when the checkered flag is dropped. Ricciardo manages to fend off Hamilton and secures his fifth podium finish in a row. Force India and Williams have also done well by bringing home their four cars in the points.
Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring – Sunday 8 July
RACE RESULTS 01 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 71 1:21:48.523 25 02 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 71 +0.658s 18 03 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 71 +6.012s 15 04 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +7.430s 12 05 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 71 +20.370s 10 06 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 71 +73.160s 8 07 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 70 +1 lap 6 08 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 70 +1 lap 4 09 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 70 +1 lap 2 10 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 70 +1 lap 1 11 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 70 +1 lap 0 12 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 70 +1 lap 0 13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 70 +1 lap 0 14 94 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 70 +1 lap 0 15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 69 +2 laps 0 16 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 68 +3 laps 0 NC 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 44 DNF 0 NC 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 29 DNF 0 NC 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1 DNF 0 NC 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 0 DNF 0
