"It was the sandbag" - Max Verstappen teases Charles Leclerc after Ferrari driver brought out red flags at 2023 F1 Bahrain GP qualifying

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had funny banter amongst themselves when the Red Bull driver teased that Ferrari were sandbagging until qualifying. Ferrari struggled for the most part during the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP race weekend.

However, as the weekend progressed, the car appeared to get better and better. By the end of the qualifying session, it was clear that Leclerc was the only challenger to pole position for Verstappen.

The Ferrari driver fell short by a tenth on his first lap (before Verstappen improved on his second run). Early in Q1, something fell off Leclerc's car and caused a Red Flag in the session.

When questioned during the post-qualifying press conference about the red flag and what broke from his car, Verstappen joked that it was the sandbag that fell which made the car quicker.

Here's how the conversation went after Leclerc was asked the question by Alex Kalinauckas from Autosport.

"CL: The part I honestly don't know. Because I haven't seen any images of it whatsoever.

MV: It was the sandbag.

CL: Yeah, probably! But the lock-up I think was just me being too optimistic in braking for Turn One. I don't think it's… I mean, I didn't feel anything particularly weird."

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FP1 was a big shock: Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen said that the car's performance was "a big shock" the first time he drove it during FP1. The two-time world champion said he was happy with the kind of progress the team had been able to make to secure pole position.

"Yeah, I mean, after testing I was very happy and then then I jumped in the car in FP1 and it was a big shock. I just couldn't get the balance right through all the practice sessions. And that's why I think what we achieved in qualifying was very good."

He added:

"I mean, qualifying to race is anyway a different car in terms of how it behaves, but you still want to be quick over one lap and that was a big struggle for me. Yeah, we just need to analyze everything what got onto the car for the race weekend, even if it's the same part but new, just to check everything for next weekend again."

Max Verstappen will be hoping to start the 2023 F1 season with a win and get the ball rolling. The car is certainly in the window and a win would not be a surprise in any which way.