Max Verstappen breaks his silence after a disappointing F1 Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen was disappointed after finishing P6 at the Bahrain GP. In a post-race interview, he stated that everything that could go wrong went downhill for him and that considering the struggles he had to face, P6 was a good recovery for Red Bull.

The 2025 Bahrain GP turned into a nightmare event for Verstappen. He started the race from P7 but noticed too much wheelspin. Moreover, during his first pit stop, Red Bull's pit lights malfunctioned, resulting in a longer stop and costing him a few places.

His stint on hard tires didn't work out due to overheating as his car slid due to loss of grip. On the second pit stop, the crew messed up again as his front right tire got stuck, resulting in another long stop.

At one point, the Dutchman was down in P20. However, with the safety car, he got an opportunity to gain a few places, eventually finishing P6. Meanwhile, after the race, Max Verstappen was disappointed with how things panned out and spilled a list of problems with the car. Talking to the media, he said (via F1):

“Basically everything went wrong. We had a poor start, too much wheelspin when I dropped the clutch, and then the first stint again [I had] basically the same problems that I had in qualifying, plus we were just overheating our tires too much compared to the competition ahead of us. Then [at] the first stop, I think the lights got stuck on. So that put me into traffic as well, then the hard tires, unfortunately, didn’t work, so I was sliding around even more than I was on the soft."

He added:

"Then we boxed again, [which was an] even worse pit stop, so then I was last. And, yeah, considering everything, to be honest, to finish P6 is then alright. I mean, more than that was anyway not possible even with good pit stops or other tires selected, realistically. It’s, of course, not what we want, but it’s just where we are at with our car and the tire behavior that we have with the car. Everything is just highlighted even more on a track like this.”

Both Red Bull drivers scored points for the first time this season as Yuki Tsunoda finished P9.

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Helmut Marko fears Red Bull losing Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen with Helmut Marko - Source: Getty

The Bahrain Grand Prix results might have caused more panic in Red Bull Racing. The team's senior motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has warned the team to improve performance or else they'll drop out of championship contention. Talking to Racingnews365, he said:

“It is clear: we need to make progress. Not progress in points, but on the stopwatch. And with a performance like we are putting in now, unfortunately, nothing will come of the world championship.

Not only that, when asked if fears of Verstappen's possible exit from Red Bull are big, Marko replied:

“Those are very big."

Max Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until the 2028 F1 season. However, since the team's performance has gone downhill, rumors around the Dutch driver's future have gained steam.

Additionally, as per media reports, Max Verstappen's manager reportedly had a heated argument with Marko after the Bahrain GP race, and the conversation ended with the manager storming off. Not only that, an urgent meeting is reportedly underway at Red Bull's hospitality box involving Christian Horner, Pierre Wache, Paul Monaghan, and Helmut Marko to dissect the Bahrain GP fallout.