Verstappen explains Abu Dhabi power issues

Max Verstappen says delays with his throttle output caused the power struggles he faced during the 2019 Formula 1 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver complained of a lack of power coming from his Honda engine for multiple laps directly after making his pit stop in the Yas Marina finale.

Red Bull was unable to fix the problem during the race and Verstappen was forced to drive around the issue. He later explained “torque holes” on the throttle resulted in his RB15 “not doing what I wanted”.

“It was a few little things,” Verstappen said.

“I just had some torque holes on throttle. There were delays and stuff, so it was not great, and we couldn’t fix it, so we drove around the problem.

“At the end of the day, it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of the result. Just when I go on throttle it’s not doing what I want.

“It did cost me lap-time – but like I said, it wouldn’t have given me the win today.”

Verstappen was still able to pass Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the second stint to claim a second-place finish, 16s down on race-winner Lewis Hamilton.

“We had to do a bit of a different strategy to Ferrari of course, they pitted quite early and we went long, because they overtook us on the first lap,” he added.

“After that our pace was quite decent, just Mercedes and Lewis today, they were just a bit too quick.

“As a whole I think it’s been a positive season and of course to be P3 in the championship is a nice ending.”