Max Verstappen’s ‘Smoking Car’ Prompts Christian Horner and Co. to Use Special Tactics for Secrecy

The first day of practice for the Canadian Grand Prix has just wrapped up, and Red Bull has once again faced some difficulties. With a biblical amount of rain drenching the circuit, including a hailstorm, numerous unexpected occurrences unfolded. Sergio Perez clocked in the 10th fastest time during FP2, significantly slower than what is expected from a Red Bull. Moreover, Max Verstappen finished in P18 after encountering an engine issue during FP2.

Even in FP1, Red Bull was struggling, with Max Verstappen securing the 5th fastest time and Sergio Perez the 8th fastest. These are not the kind of results Red Bull desires, especially with Ferrari and McLaren now up to speed following their recent upgrades. While Max Verstappen’s P18 in FP2 was a surprise, it was attributed to his car starting to smoke, leading to that outcome. However, while repairing the car, Red Bull employed a special tactic to shield it from competitors’ prying eyes.

Red Bull’s secret strategy to hide their car under repair

There was some problem with Max Verstappen’s RB20, as he noticed that there was smoke coming out of his car. When the defending champ reported this to the team, he was asked to come into the pits and retire the car. After only doing a single flying lap, the 3-time world champion was back and was extremely quick to jump out of the car once he reached the garage, a skill that is mandatory for an F1 driver.

After the pilot had been successfully ejected, the team got to work on the car. However, with all the other teams curious to know the issues with the RB20, many straying eyes tried to look at the garage. This is when the team used a secret trick by creating a human shield to cover the whole entrance of the garage as seen in the IG post below.

You see, back in the day, teams were allowed to cover their garages in case they were working on the car during winter testing and practice sessions. However, it was only recently that the rule was made, stating that no covers would be allowed, to give more value to fans and competitors.

Knowing this, Red Bull did the next best thing and brought forward some of their biggest men to cover the entrance. One of the staff members is also seen raising his hands in the air to block as much vision as possible. Although the Milton Keynes outfit used this tactic to hide their car, they were far from the first ones to do so.

When McLaren built a human wall for Jenson Button

When Sebastian Vettel claimed the world championship title, beating Fernando Alonso, those were the golden days of Formula 1. It was then when Jenson Button was driving with McLaren, and he was having a difficult season considering he was unhappy with the car’s handling.

At the third last race of the season, Jenson Button was testing his car at Abu Dhabi on Day 1, November 2, when the car was called into the garage. As the engineers started their work, many curious competitors wanted to know the inner workings of McLaren, so what the team did was the same thing that Red Bull followed, created a human shield, as reported by ESPN.

Prior to the 2020 season, teams were allowed to cover their garage when there was work going on in the background. However, the FIA decided that it would be more interesting for fans to see what does down in the garages of the fastest cars on earth. That being said, the new rules were implemented.

What secrets do you think Red Bull was hiding under the hood after Max Verstappen had to retire the car? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.