Verstappen ended up in a barrier with his RB16 car when he crashed on a wet track in a run-off to the starting grid. He crashed the front wing and the left front wheel suspension.
Nevertheless, he was able to return to the starting grid, where the mechanics began repairing his monopost about 20 minutes before the start of the warm-up lap. At the same time, they completed the work literally a few seconds before the time limit set by the rules expired, according to which all tires must be fitted to the car five minutes before leaving the warm-up lap.
Thanks to this, Verstappen was able to start from the seventh position, which he took in qualifying. In the end, he finished second.
“I think Max got off the track about three times in that lap and the third exit looked like the final one. We immediately saw that the steering arm (trackrod) and certainly the pushrod were broken. The question was whether it (accident) damaged the axle (wishbone). If it also damaged the axle, it would be the end, so we decided to return to the grate with the car and do our best to repair the car on the grate, “said Horner.
“The mechanics did an incredible job. What would normally take an hour and a half they managed in 20 minutes and ended with 25 seconds to go. Today, they deserve all the credit, because without them, the result would not be possible today. “
Verstappen admitted that he was “very calm” during the mechanics’ work on the grate, and as soon as the car was ready, he wanted to repay the mechanics for their hard work.
“I was sitting in the car. I heard the mechanics scream at each other ’10 seconds! 5 seconds! ‘ they put on the tires and glued the last pieces of tape to the suspension to make sure it held. I raised my thumb and they just ‘yeah, yeah, it’s fixed’. I went to the warm-up lap, checked the bikes, it seemed fine and nothing special happened during the race, so it was completely fixed. Crazy, “said Verstappen.
The Dutchman also described the whole accident in more detail. “I locked the wheels, released the brakes, tried to brake again, locked the wheels again and just got off the track. I had problems with grip all round, then I just locked the wheels and drove straight.
“I thought it was after the race, but I was able to reverse and get out of the barrier. I never give up, I brought the car to the grate and we’ll see what happens. “
