No reason for Max Verstappen to worry about ERS issue, assures Red Bull director Helmut Marko

Max Verstappen could breathe a sigh of relief on the power unit side of things, as per Red Bull director Helmut Marko. He has stated that the three-time world champion had the old one in his car. This, according to him, can be replaced for now.

The Red Bull driver had a fractured start to the weekend as he was forced to sit out most of FP2 because of a PU issue.

Initially, there was no clarity over what had happened, but Verstappen later told the media that it was a PU issue. With all the drivers on a limited number of PU parts allocated over a year, there were concerns if this was the new one.

It would have meant that the reigning champion would be on the backfoot for the rest of the season.

As it turns out, that's not the case. Marko told the media that the power unit was the old one and the team would just replace it with a new one for the rest of the weekend. As quoted by PlanetF1, Marko said:

"It’s a problem with the engine. We now have to take the engine out of the car to find the exact cause, but it is certainly on the electrical side of the engine. This is not a new engine, but an old one."

Helmut Marko did admit that Max Verstappen not having enough mileage was surely going to be a concern. This is especially so since FP1 was washed off as well.

“It is indeed annoying because the first session was largely wet and did not yield any conclusions. Let’s hope that the last practice is dry enough to find a good setting. If we get at least one dry practice, then it is still necessary not to be so painful. In any case, we still have information from Checo. I am confident that we will find a solution.”

Max Verstappen reflects on a disappointing first day

Talking to the media after the first day, Verstappen admitted that the situation was not ideal for him. The driver could only complete four laps in FP2 and everyone was forced to sit out of the FP1. As quoted by PlanetF1, the driver pointed out that it was an electrical issue:

"There was a suspected electrical issue so they told me to box and they’re investigating now. It’s not ideal. I would have liked to drive more laps. Some other people had a few more laps in the dry, a few more laps now in the wet."

He added:

"It’s definitely not how I would have liked to get on in FP2, but I think it’s more important to just figure out what actually happened, and what kind of implications that will have for this weekend or the rest of the year.”

The driver has missed pole position only once this season, and it was in Monaco where Charles Leclerc got it done. The driver will be looking to get back to the front again this weekend in Canada and shrug off the less-than-ideal start to the weekend.