Max Verstappen's RB22 Set for Repairs after Heavy Off in Australian Practice
Max Verstappen ran wide at Turn 10 during the second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, leaving his RB22 with significant underside damage that Red Bull says will occupy the team overnight. The off curtailed his running and adds urgency to a setup fight the squad must resolve before qualifying.
Max Verstappen's Turn 10 excursion and immediate consequences
The incident unfolded on a flying lap when Verstappen appeared to encounter a moment of oversteer on the high-speed right-hander, ran off the exit and into the grass and gravel. The car bounced through the trap, shedding fragments of carbon fibre and shredding the floor and underside, after which Verstappen limped back to the pits for checks.
He completed only 13 laps in the second practice session—adding to 27 laps from the morning run—but the compromised end to FP2 left him sixth on the timing sheets with a best lap of 1: 20. 366, 0. 637 seconds adrift of pace-setter Oscar Piastri's 1: 19. 729. Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli posted the second-quickest time, 0. 214 seconds behind Piastri.
The cause—running wide after oversteer—had clear effects: immediate physical damage to the RB22's floor, a shortened on-track programme in FP2, and additional workload for the Red Bull mechanics ahead of the rest of the weekend.
Red Bull engineering response and RB22 repairs
Paul Monaghan, Red Bull's chief engineer, summed up the scale of the task: "I'll say there's enough to keep us busy! It's recoverable. " He added that while the impact was "a bit of a thump, " the damage was not expected to be drastic and the team planned to "tidy it up and go again. " The team has already begun assessments and repairs to restore the RB22 for qualifying.
Red Bull is also probing broader performance issues across both cars. Monaghan noted encouraging signs from the opening session—both cars ran at the start of FP1 and were competitive straight away—but acknowledged small problems in FP2 that hampered repeatable lap delivery. He singled out work to understand how to extract consistent laps in both qualifying and race trim as the team's "main objective" for the following day.
What makes this notable is that the RB22 is operating with Red Bull's first self-developed power unit: Monaghan highlighted that the weekend represents a package of "brand new engine, our own, new car, new rules, " and yet the cars were competitive from the outset. The need to repair the floor and to fine-tune setup therefore comes amid a broader technical transition for the squad.
Team-wide implications and Isack Hadjar's situation
The off not only curtailed Verstappen's session time but adds pressure as the team investigates difficulties affecting both drivers. Team comments referenced Isack Hadjar's ongoing adaptation to the RB22—Monaghan said Hadjar is "getting his head around it" and is clear about what he wants—while also describing Verstappen as a "competitive soul" working through grip and setup issues after FP2.
As a result, Red Bull faces a two-fold task: repair the physical damage to Verstappen's car and extract reliable performance from both RB22s ahead of qualifying. The team plans to analyse what worked and what needs improvement overnight, with the immediate effect of the incident being reduced running time, a repair programme for the RB22, and intensified setup work for the engineers and drivers.
Verstappen has characterized the day as one without a full clean run but said the team's pace appeared broadly where he expected. With limited laps completed and repairs underway, Red Bull's ability to convert practice learning into qualifying performance will be watched closely when track action resumes.
