Red Bull discovered the fault that forced Max Verstappen to retire after the start of the Monaco Grand Prix. During the formation lap the Dutchman noticed odd vibrations, then failed to lock the RPMs into the correct window during the pre‑start. When the clutch released, the power unit vanished.

Laurent Mekies confirmed the issue was engine‑related and that a replacement had been planned for after the Monaco weekend. Monaco is a low‑speed circuit where teams often run an older unit to save parts for the high‑downforce Barcelona race. The swap was a standard move, not a surprise.

The team still praised Verstappen’s pace, noting he topped Friday’s session and was strong in qualifying. The car’s low‑speed performance was encouraging, but the driver admitted low‑speed tracks have been a weakness this season. Barcelona will test whether the recent chassis tweaks translate into better lap times.

With Verstappen sitting seventh in the championship, a retirement hurts morale more than points. Red Bull’s engineers are racing to diagnose the failure before the next race. The team will rely on the new power unit to avoid a repeat of the abrupt Monaco exit.