"I had to back out because my brakes were like fire" - Max Verstappen on the many issues that he faced in Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen spoke about the multiple issues he faced in the season opener in Bahrain. The Dutchman retired in the closing stages of the race after developing a fuel supply issue.

Speaking about the braking issues he experienced in Bahrain, Verstappen said:

“During testing the brakes were getting hotter and we were trying to make fixes and we thought it would have been just about enough for the race. Of course, when you are fighting and are close to a car they get warmer and that’s why I had to lift a lot. After my battle with Charles [Leclerc], especially after the third lap, I had to back out because my brakes were like fire so I had to be really careful with that.”

Red Bull and Ferrari looked like the teams to beat heading into the first race of the season in Bahrain. The 24-year-old world champion missed out on pole position in the qualifying session leading up to the race by 0.123 seconds, starting P2 on the grid behind Charles Leclerc. Despite matching the Monegasque driver for pace at multiple points throughout the race, Max Verstappen had serious issues with the fuel supply system in his RB18, eventually leading to a premature retirement from the Dutchman.

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Max Verstappen highlighted the steering issue he experienced during the pitstop in Bahrain

Max Verstappen was caught off-guard by a random steering issue after one of his pitstops in the season opener. The driver was heard complaining heavily to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase and was audibly unhappy with his car. The Dutchman also had to cover-off Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who was close behind during the safety car restart towards the end of the race.

Verstappen spoke of the steering issues he experienced, saying:

“With the pitstop, something happened when we dropped the car. My steering got damaged so it wasn’t very enjoyable to drive after that and also I had to defend from Carlos [Sainz] at the restart with that. I was really not sure what would happen with the balance and behavior of the car. Of course at the end it didn’t matter with the retirement but also there we made a fix that wouldn’t happen again.”

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen went second fastest overall in the first practice session of the ongoing Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc taking the fastest lap of the session. Verstappen's fans, however, can remain smiling as the Dutchman set his time on the hard compound tire while Leclerc was on the soft tires, marking a huge difference in raw pace.