via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 19, 2022 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before qualifying. Pool via REUTERS/Giuseppe Cacace
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 19, 2022 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before qualifying. Pool via REUTERS/Giuseppe Cacace
The start to the 2022 season has exactly been the opposite of what Max Verstappen would’ve thought. The defending champion was left with nothing to defend his title against the onslaught of Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Lewis Hamilton. The Red Bull of Max Verstappen came to a complete halt just before he could complete his race.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The Dutchman lost his duel with Charles midway through the race. Leclerc was in a staunch battle with the Red Bull from Lap 16 to Lap 19. Verstappen overtook Charles at turn 1 and then Charles regained the position at turn 4 with the help of DRS. This happened three times straight.
Even though Verstappen is very aggressive and has won most of the duels he has taken part in, this time he failed. He couldn’t elbow out the Ferrari driver and keep his lead over him. Leclerc raced past and ended up winning the race.
🎙 Marko: "Max'e çıkış turları sırasında sakin olması söylendi. Normal hızda sürseydi, Leclerc'in önünde olurdu. Ve önde olduğumuzda tamamen farklı bir hikaye yazabilirdik. Her şey bizim stratejimizle ilgiliydi. Yani bu Max'in değil, bizim hatamızdı."#Formula1 pic.twitter.com/J1u228d6O3
— Motorsport.com Türkiye (@motorsportcomtr) March 21, 2022
Talking about this, Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing’s senior advisor, conveyed, “Max was told to stay calm during the starting laps. If he had driven at normal speed, he would have been ahead of Leclerc. And when we were ahead, we could have written a completely different story. It was all about our strategy. So it was our fault, not Max’s.”
Read More: WATCH: Lewis Hamilton Shows His Utmost Respect for F1 Rival Max Verstappen Ahead of Bahrain GP
What happened in Bahrain with Max Verstappen?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The 24-year-old was asked to keep calm during the first few laps. The race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase asked the Dutchman to take care of his tires. The tarmac of Bahrain is very abrasive and drivers needed to look after their tires. The track is so rough that teams went for three Pit-stops on average.
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in action during the race REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Apart from the tire issue, Max was constantly talking to his race engineer about a problem with the battery. Soon after he pitted for the second time, Max’s track-rod suffered a blow when put down after changing the tires. To bring it into a complete misery, the Red Bull of Verstappen lost pace to give Carlos Sainz his P2.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Watch This Story: Mercedes React To FIA’s Admission Of Human Error In The Verstappen Hamilton Scandal
Soon after Sainz overtook Max, the Dutch driver lost pace and went down the order to ultimately go back to the pit lane. Interestingly, another Red Bull of Sergio Perez spun due to the same fuel issue. As F1 goes to Saudi Arabia next week, it’ll be interesting to see how Max turns the table to take charge of the championship defense.
