Starting seventh and finishing sixth in a race where he struggled with the balance of the RB21, Max Verstappen faced numerous challenges during the Bahrain Grand Prix. “The sixth place was indeed the best possible outcome,” he said.
Verstappen encountered problems with the brakes and overheating tires, among other issues. “And the car’s speed left much to be desired. Besides, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. That made it all the worse today.”
With the latter, Verstappen pointed to, for example, the slow pit stops. “Normally we are very good at that, but I don’t know what was going on today.” He didn’t mince words when discussing the shortcomings of the RB21 during the race. “The car suffers from a lack of balance. And on a circuit like this, it becomes even more apparent. Just like the problems with tire management.”
Jeddah
In Saudi Arabia, he expects things to go at least slightly better. The circuit is more forgiving on the tires. “But if you have problems with them, as we do, then it’s a problem on any circuit. Tire management and balance, those are the main problems we have.”
He claims not to be frustrated yet. “Of course it’s disappointing, but we just keep going. We continue to try to improve the car. If you have problems, they don’t just disappear. Not even if you win once (like last week in Japan). I’m quite down-to-earth about it, we just have to keep working hard.”
