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Max Verstappen's uncharacteristic team radio rants were something that caught the attention of everyone watching the live telecast of the Bahrain GP. The Red Bull driver was dealing with a plethora of issues. First, it was the overheating brakes that forced him to drop back, then it was the issue with the steering wheel after the third pit stop, and then finally the power unit issues.
After the race, Verstappen stood his ground and defended his radio messages by saying:
“I’ve been angrier before! I don’t hold back, I say what I think in the car, and I was unhappy with what we were doing or the balance of the car I had with the strategy. It was not necessarily directly to GP, because I have a really good relationship with him, but of course, he’s the only one I can talk to. But yeah, we have to analyze quite a few things.”
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Christian Horner: Max Verstappen felt he could have done more
One of his more aggressive outbursts came after the second pitstop, when Max Verstappen was unable to close the gap to Charles Leclerc despite the undercut. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Christian Horner defended Verstappen by saying that the frustration could have been because the driver felt a better result was possible.
The Red Bull team principal said:
“I think it’s always a fine margin. He [Verstappen] felt that he could have done more, and I think that, combined with a slightly quicker stop, but then the Ferrari had put us very, very close to them.”
Horner, however, conceded that it would not have made much of a difference anyway. According to the Briton, even if Verstappen was able to get ahead of Leclerc after the stops, it would have been tough to hold him back as Ferrari had the pace advantage around the track and the new regulations made overtaking easier. He said:
“But, even if we’d have made the pass, I think their pace was such that - with overtaking being a little bit easier now - they would have just overtaken. They just had a quicker car today, so congrats to them on their 1-2 finish.”
The two teams and drivers will renew their rivalry at the Saudi Arabian GP this weekend. Only time will tell who gets the upper hand.
