Red Bull’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen has opened up about the precarious RB21 and his disappointing P6 finish at the F1 Bahrain GP as he now sits third in the championship standings behind the McLaren drivers.
After struggling throughout the practice sessions, the Dutchman encountered brake issues and found himself in P10 following the opening runs in Q3. However, he managed to recover a couple of positions on his final flying lap in qualifying to start the race from seventh on the grid on Sunday.
Although Verstappen snatched the sixth place from Pierre Gasly in the final moments of the race, his evening was marred not only by slow pit stops but also by brake and balance issues that compounded the RB21’s weaknesses on track.
Overheating tyres exacerbated Verstappen’s brake problems during surprisingly bad race
Speaking in a print media zone afterwards, Max Verstappen confessed that he was surprised by the magnitude of their troubles during the F1 Bahrain GP even after their underwhelming results in qualifying on Saturday. Nonetheless, he added that Red Bull couldn’t have produced a better result than his P6 finish in the race.
“I don’t know, I mean, yeah, the pace was very bad, but of course I didn’t expect the race that I had, because basically everything went wrong what could go wrong.
“That probably made it a little bit worse, but I think the position where I finished is, at the end of the day, the maximum that we could have done.”
In reference to Verstappen complaining about the brakes during the race and how difficult they were to manage, the four-time world champion clarified that the brakes were in better condition than they were in qualifying. Additionally, he elaborated that the overheating of tyres resulted in further loss of feeling under braking and an increased likelihood of front and rear locking at the same time.
“No, I mean, the brakes are a little bit better today, because we were allowed to change the material, but the problem is not only the feeling in the brakes, which is still not where I want it to be, but also our tyres are just overheating.
“So when I’m braking, there is no feeling, because it’s super easy to lock fronts or rears at the same time.”
Slow pit stops not up to Red Bull’s standard
Max Verstappen lost a couple of seconds during his first stop when the team’s traffic light system above the pit box, which indicates when a driver can make a safe release, malfunctioned and remained red for too long. His second pit stop was compromised by issues with his front-right tyre as the wheel gun failed to engage the first time and prompted a 6.2-second stop.
Addressing the sluggish pit stops he experienced during the F1 Bahrain GP, Verstappen admitted that they were not at par with Red Bull’s usual standards.
“Well, yeah, not good, of course, when you’re waiting for so long and two separate problems, so yeah, not to our standards.”
“Normally our pit stops are good. I don’t know what happened today.”
Imbalance in degradation made the Bahrain GP weekend worse for Red Bull
With regard to what the factors were that made the race weekend such a struggle for Red Bull, Verstappen singled out disproportionate degradation, which is more pronounced on an abrasive track like the Bahrain International Circuit, as the root cause of their problems.
“Deg imbalance, and it’s highlighted even more on this track. You know, when you have no balance, no tyre management, or worse tyre management than the others, then on this track it’s worse.”
Unlike their weekend in Japan, Red Bull failed to find a solution to the RB21’s difficulties before the F1 Bahrain GP despite turning the car upside down.
In terms of whether they are anticipating any remedies to maximise their performance in Jeddah, Max Verstappen responded that while they expect the layout to somewhat improve their performance, Red Bull would still experience worse degradation than their rivals.
“No, I mean the layout will probably help a bit, because in general there’s just a bit less deg. But when you’re worse on tyres, you’re worse on it everywhere.”
Asked if there is a solution to their woes in the short term or if it is a long-term problem, Verstappen conceded that he doesn’t have an answer. He also clarified that he is unaware if the Milton Keynes outfit has arrived at a conclusion yet.
“Know where to find it? Yes. But I don’t know. You have to ask them [the team]; I don’t know.”
Verstappen identifies tyre management and balance as Red Bull’s primary problems
Reflecting on the most concerning issues Red Bull face after his P6 finish at the F1 Bahrain GP, Max Verstappen identified tyre management and the balance of the RB21 as the biggest factors that compromised his progress in Sunday’s race.
The Dutchman also referred to Red Bull’s strong performance at Sakhir in 2024 and remarked that their car has become significantly tougher on the tyres in the span of one year.
“The big points are the pace that we have. Basically tyre management and balance. Those are my main problems.
“I just feel like we are even worse on tyres somehow this year. It makes it just very complicated. Because last year we were not too bad around here. Of course then people made improvements, but I feel like we actually had a worse weekend than last year, which is a bit weird.”
Regarding the MCL39’s superior tyre life and whether additional downforce would serve as a remedy to their problems, the 27-year-old explained that their issue is more complicated than it appears on the surface.
“No, I mean for sure downforce helps. But our balance is disconnected. Plus we are just worse on tyres.
“There must be other reasons for that as well that we are probably not doing right.”
Touching on his impressive performance in Suzuka despite their balance issues under braking, Verstappen emphasised how the RB21 fares better in the very high-speed corners of a track and added that the abrasive tarmac in Bahrain prompted multiple factors to come into play along with the tyres.
“Yeah, but here the surface is completely different. The tyres play an even bigger role.
“Normally our car in the very high-speed corners is quite a bit more stable. But here there are a lot more other factors that come into play.”
RB21’s balance too inconsistent to make predictions about Jeddah
In terms of what performance they expect this weekend in Saudi Arabia, Max Verstappen remarked that it’s tough to provide a definitive answer given the highly sensitive nature of the RB21.
“It’s so hard to tell. Our car is so sensitive to set-up anyway that I can say yes or no. But it might change.”
Asked if Red Bull have made any progress on the balance issue since the start of the season, the Dutchman rued that their feeling in the car often changes from one session to another.
“It’s a hit and miss.
“I mean, you know, Friday in Suzuka was bad. Qualifying then, it was a bit better. The race, of course, was a bit better but still not where I wanted to be. But at least then you are competitive.
“Here [in Bahrain] then, it was off again.”
Verstappen on his neutral approach and not needing to reset after poor results
With regard to how he resets after a streak of underwhelming race weekends, Max Verstappen responded that disappointing results have no consequence on his mentality and that he always maintains a neutral approach to racing.
“I don’t need to reset. I mean, I’m okay. It’s what it is.
“I always try to do the best I can even in disappointing or let’s say frustrating situations. But you have to move on.
“We keep discussing, keep trying to improve. We know that we have our problems. Even if you win a race, that doesn’t go away.
“I said that already last week. I’m anyway not the guy that I think when you have positive or negative scenarios that you get influenced by a lot. I just stay very neutral. You just have to keep on working.”
