Red Bull "trip around Imola town" cost Verstappen chance to rejoin FP2 - Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has suggested a "trip around Imola town" for Max Verstappen's car was the reason the Dutchman was unable to rejoin second practice for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Verstappen was able to complete only five laps in the second session after running over the exit kerbs at the second part of Rivazza, damaging his driveshaft.

Despite grinding to a halt at the pit exit, Verstappen's car was not delivered back to the team until there were just 25 minutes of the session remaining.

Onboard cameras showed the car being driven on the back of a flatbed truck on public roads on its return to the paddock.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Horner stated the team was left with too much to do before the session ended to return Verstappen to the circuit.

"It looks like the driveshaft gave away unfortunately so we are just trying to understand what caused that and why that has happened," said Horner.

"Unfortunately, the car went on a bit of a trip around Imola town after they collected it before we got it back into the pits which just didn't allow enough time to get it replaced.

"It is obviously on the Friday gearbox but we will inspect all of the parts ahead of tomorrow."

Sergio Perez suffered no such issues as he gained valuable running time following his collision with Esteban Ocon's Alpine in the first session.

On whether the Mexican could be hampered by a similar issue to that on Verstappen's car, Horner replied: "We have to take the bits apart to have a look.

"The kerbs are pretty aggressive here so we just need to understand what has caused it."

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