Red Bull: Verstappen DNF caused by 'complex' fuel system issue

Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko has confirmed that Max Verstappen's costly retirement from last weekend's Australian Grand Prix was caused once again by a fuel system issue.

Verstappen was on route in Melbourne to a likely runner-up spot behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc when his engine shut down with twenty laps to go.

The Dutchman was sidelined while battling Leclerc in F1's opening race in Bahrain by a fuel pump failure.

And immediately after last Sunday's race the RB18's fuel system was again singled out as the culprit of Verstappen's DNF

"We could see on the data that something was wrong, and Max could smell it as well," Marko told the media after the Australian Grand Prix.

"It looks like a fuel system issue, external to the tank, so it's gone into quarantine.

"The parts will return to [Honda's headquarters in] Japan and we'll obviously try and understand the problem as quickly as we can."

• Verstappen: 'No reason' to believe in 2022 title, for now

In the interim, Red Bull has received Honda's feedback, and while Marko offered little detail on the problem that befell Verstappen, he did reveal that the issue was different than the one that surfaced at Sakhir last month.

"We were able to clarify the cause of the fuel leak in Max's car," the Austrian told Speedweek.

"The matter is very complex. The problem is absolutely different from that of Bahrain."

Marko did not disclose whether a reliable fix to the problem will be put in place in time for next week's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter