More technical problems for Red Bull in Jerez

Jerez, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) – Red Bull endured a third straight day of technical issues with its 2014 car, the RB10, in Formula One preseason testing on Thursday in Jerez.

Having won the F1 constructors’ championship the past four seasons, Red Bull was once again forced to have its test session cut short to investigate problems with the car, particularly the engine. On Wednesday, Red Bull’s engine supplier, Renault, reported an energy store issue.

Four-time defending F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel drove the RB10 during the first two days of testing. Daniel Ricciardo, a newcomer to the team, was behind the wheel of the car on day three and scheduled for the final day on Friday. Ricciardo went on track for the first time midway through the session but failed to complete a lap when the car came to a halt after smoke plumed from the back of it.

After extensive work on the car, Ricciardo returned to complete only two laps when Red Bull opted to curtail its session and further investigate the matter to ready the car for Friday.

“We worked hard yesterday to make the changes it was felt were necessary to overcome the problems we identified, and we were hopeful of a more successful day today,” said Red Bull race engineer Andy Damerum. “Unfortunately, the measures we took only partially solved the issue and, as with yesterday, it’s more sensible to stop and dig deeper into finding a solution.

“It’s obviously not where we want to be and naturally the whole team is frustrated by these issues. However, we’re pretty good at bouncing back from this type of thing. This is where the whole team pulls together, and I’m sure we will get these problems fixed.”

Red Bull’s RB10 has been on track for a total of just 14 laps during the first three days of testing. Vettel made three laps on Tuesday and eight on the following day.

Rookie Kevin Magnussen from McLaren posted the quickest lap time of 1 minute, 23.276 seconds during the session. It’s the second day in a row McLaren has topped the time charts. Magnussen’s teammate, Jenson Button, was fastest on Wednesday.

Categorized in: FIA