Max Verstappen had to contend the last part of qualifying for the British Grand Prix with floor damage, severely impacting his chances of securing pole.
The Dutchman had an off-track excursion during a lap in Q1 when he lost control of his RB20 through the fast Copse right-hander in slippery conditions, skating across the gravel trap and only just keeping his car out of the wall.
After ploughing through the gravel, his car lost a significant amount of downforce as it damaged the strakes in the floor which directs airflow to the diffuser.
Mechanics could be seen frantically making repairs before the next part of the session started, with Verstappen eventually only going on to set the fourth quickest time which means he starts from the second row of the grid alongside Lando Norris.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed the extent of the damage and confirmed an important factor that could have impacted Vestappen’s race when speaking to F1 TV.
Christian Horner confirms what changes can be made to Max Verstappen’s car
Under the Parc Ferme rules in F1 teams are only allowed to change parts if they are like-for-like, with any change of specification requiring drivers to start from the pit lane under Article 40.9 b) of the F1 Sporting Regulations.
Red Bull brought a new floor body and edge to this weekend’s race, throwing into doubt as to whether Verstappen would have a spare available.
“Unfortunately he did quite a lot of damage to the underneath of the car, the mechanics did an excellent job at managing to patch it up within the rules between the two sessions but a brilliant lap by Max,” said Horner.
When asked if they have a spare floor, Horner replied: “Yes.”
Max Verstappen explains Silverstone incident
Verstappen made the same mistake as his teammate Sergio Perez at Copse Corner, only he managed to prevent his car from being stuck in the gravel trap.
Speaking after the sessionto F1 TV, Verstappen explained the incident that nearly left him out of qualifying in the early stages.
“I lost the car coming into Copse. I already slowed down but lost the car and almost crashed, kept it out of the barrier. Quite a lot of floor damage from then onwards,” said Verstappen.
“The team did a great job to repair as much as they could, but some bits were missing that you can’t really glue on, so from there we were just fighting with the balance of the car.”
It is estimated that it cost Verstappen between one and three-tenths per lap with the damage, potentially meaning he was on course for disrupting the all-British front three lined up for the race.
Perez’s error has put yet another spotlight on the Mexican after he endures another back-of-the-grid start, calling into question whether Red Bull could activate a performance clause in his contract if he does not improve his results.
Daniel Ricciardo could be lined up as a potential replacement, with Liam Lawson is also an option with the New Zealander set to take part in a post-race tyre test with Red Bull after the British GP.
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