‘It’s difficult to say’: Max Verstappen in the dark over whether Red Bull have fixed reliability problems

Verstappen is none the wiser as to whether he will suffer reliability issues yet again this weekend

Verstappen has failed to finish two of the first three races of the season (Getty Images)

Max Verstappen has admitted he is unsure whether or not Red Bull have fixed their reliability issues ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola this weekend.

The 24-year-old, who claimed his first world championship in dramatic fashion last season, has endured a mixed start to the 2022 F1 campaign.

He was forced to retire in the closing stages of the Bahrain Grand Prix, before then going on to win the Saudi Arabia GP seven days later.

But similar issues then emerged again in Australia as Verstappen’s engine overheated, causing him to suffer another DNF.

The two reliability issues have seen the Dutchman fall 46 points behind drivers’ championship leader Charles Leclerc.

And while Verstappen hopes the car will perform for him at the Imola circuit, he insists the team are still somewhat in the dark about why the problems are occurring.

Speaking to RaceFans, he said: “It’s been different issues, so we have been solving them, but of course time will tell if it’s working or not.

“It’s difficult to say at the moment. But I know that the team always does their very best in solving all the issues.”

He then went on to add: “They are a bit unexpected because testing was very smooth for us before we started the first race of the season. We’ll find out this weekend.”

The Emilia Romagna GP is on the F1 calendar for a third season running, with the inaugural edition taking place two years ago during the coronavirus pandemic.

Lewis Hamilton won the race first time around, before Verstappen claimed a thrilling win over the Brit 12 months ago.