Red Bull modifies its gearbox

Singapore is an unusual circuit with its lights that outshine the biggest football stadium, its triple chicane, bumps, and metro! The metro was the source of an unusual problem with Mark Webber’s gearbox last year. The Australian driver had to stop his race in 2008 when his gearbox engaged two gears simultaneously, which literally shattered the mechanisms inside!

The problem was probably due to a power surge, which disrupted the gearbox. The surge was caused by the underground metro passing just beneath the racetrack near turn 13. To prevent this issue from recurring, Red Bull Racing has fitted a metal plate under the gearbox of its cars.

« We had a breakdown with Mark’s car last year that was very unusual, » explained Horner. « In simple terms, two valves were activated, which caused two gears to be engaged simultaneously. There were many theories last year as to why Mark had this problem, but we never found the real reason. »

« We had suspicions about static electricity so we took some precautions to prevent it from happening again, including a programming change for the software and a metallic protection that we added. From what I understand, we are not the only team adding this protection. »

Nothing proves that this theory is accurate, as Red Bull has no certainty. However, it should be noted that Toro Rosso experienced the same problem during free practice, and this happened just two meters further from the spot where it occurred for Mark Webber during the race. And the subway line runs right at this location…