"It was a good understanding" - Max Verstappen on learnings from Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen is taking the lessons he learned last week in Bahrain with him to Jeddah for the forthcoming 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen's title defense got off to a tumultuous start after the Dutchman was forced to retire his car shortly before the checkered flag fell. The 24-year-old relinquished P2 and a big haul of points in the process.

Speaking to the media during the pre-race drivers' press conference, the Dutchman was asked how he felt about the race leading up to his eventual retirement. The Red Bull driver said:

“Not entirely happy but I was still in second, which would have been, of course, a good amount of points but unfortunately we couldn’t finish the race. But (there’s) still a lot of things we learned because we more or less completed the whole race. We had a lot of information from that. We’ll try to implement it here. Of course, the track is a bit different but it was a good understanding of the first proper race distance on the car.”

Max Verstappen also shared his honest thoughts on the Red Bull RB18 when asked about whether it matched his expectations during the Bahrain GP. He said:

“No, it didn’t. I expected more but we have our reasons for that. That’s why we’ll try to do better here.”

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Max Verstappen's Red Bull are still favorites in 2022, according to Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto

Despite Ferrari's dominant performance in the 2022 F1 season opener, team principal Mattia Binotto feels Red Bull remain the team to beat this year.

Ferrari bagged a memorable one-two finish in Sakhir after a late reliability issue forced Max Verstappen to retire one lap before the checkered flag fell.

Speaking to the media after the race, Binotto downplayed the Scuderia's chances by saying:

“Red Bull had brought a nice package on the last day of testing and we saw that it could be worth half a second. Without that, we would have had a little more margin over our direct rivals. “The reality is that Red Bull with that package had reached our level or perhaps even better. I think that in qualifying it was very tight, Max could have conquered pole and, probably, we would have seen another race.”

Pundits expect Red Bull and Ferrari to once again tussle for top honors when F1 action returns to the streets of Jeddah. Verstappen will be eager to open his account for the year on the track where he was super impressive in 2021.