Max retires in closing stages Bahrain GP: 'A difficult race'

Published on 20 March 2022 by Stefan Meens

Technical issues in the closing stages of Bahrain Grand Prix, meant Max Verstappen did not finish the opening race of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. Charles Leclerc, who led the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver for most of the race, took an impressive victory. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, made it a Ferrari 1-2 finish. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton completed the top three.

Following the disappointing result, Max said: “It was a difficult race, we didn’t have the balance we had on Friday and the car was difficult to drive. If I pushed too much, the brakes quickly overheated, so it meant I had to lift. The strategy wasn’t great either, so we have to look into that. Twice I could’ve taken the lead after the pitstops, but I was told to take it easy in my out-lap so I couldn’t take the lead. Next time, I’ll follow my gut feeling more.”

Nevertheless, Max appeared to secure second place, before technical issues resulted in a DNF. “I was still second, which is a good result in the first race of a season. But after my third stop, I started having problems with my steering wheel. It kept jarring and I had to put a lot of force into it to get it moving. After keeping Carlos at bay at the restart, I was pleased to take second with all these problems, but then we had another issue, which looked like fuel could no longer get to the engine. The car stalled and that was it.”

Summing up the opening weekend, Max said: “It was really difficult today. For the team to not score any points today is bad. But it could be something small, but these things can lead to the loss of a championship, with this being a costly loss of points.”

As the cars line up for the start, only the McLaren’s of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo start on the medium Pirelli tyres, with the rest of the grid opting for the soft compound. When the lights go out, Max manages to get alongside pole-sitter Leclerc, but the Ferrari keeps his lead exiting the first corner.

Apart from Mick Schumacher spinning his Haas in turn six, after being tagged by Alpine Esteban Ocon, the opening lap is incident free, with Carlos Sainz consolidating his P3, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kevin Magnussen.

Sergio Perez overtakes the Haas of the returning Dane in lap three to take over fifth. George Russell follows suit and passes Magnussen for sixth two laps later. Meanwhile, Perez continues his progress by claiming fourth after passing Lewis Hamilton in turn four as the race reaches the tenth lap.

In lap twelve, Lewis Hamilton is the first driver to pit, switching to the hard Pirelli compound. Three laps later, Max makes his first stop, opting for a brand-new set of softs. Leclerc comes in a lap later and re-joins the track just ahead of Max.

The world champion piles on the pressure hoping to make the most of his tyres being up to temperature. In lap seventeen, Max slipstreams past the Ferrari as the pair head into turn one, with Leclerc regaining the lead in the run down to turn four. The following lap produces an identical manoeuvre, with Leclerc coming out on top again as they head into the middle sector.

The final act of this exciting duel takes place in lap nineteen with Max once again passing Leclerc into turn one. In doing so, the Dutchman locks up and the Monegasque can remain in the lead.  In the subsequent stint, Max is unable to stay close to Leclerc. By the time the former makes his second stop in lap 31, the gap is four seconds. Similar to the first round of stops, Ferrari call Leclerc in a lap later. Both drivers switch to the medium tyres, with Leclerc remaining in front.

After Sainz and Perez complete their stops in lap 34, order is restored at the front, with Leclerc leading the race ahead of Max. To break open the Grand Prix, the latter makes a third pit stop in lap 44 and switches to the soft Pirellis. Ferrari reply to Red Bull’s strategy call by leaving Leclerc out, but calling Sainz in. A couple of laps later, Leclerc is effectively granted a free pitstop when Pierre Gasly’s stranded Alpha Tauri causes a safety car. The Frenchman’s car has caught fire on the exit of turn three.

Meanwhile, following his pitstop, Max reports that steering the car has become increasingly more difficult, setting the Dutchman up for a challenging final seven laps of the Grand Prix. Leclerc aces the restart with Max fighting to stay in front of Sainz.

With four laps remaining, the issues onboard Max’ RB18 worsen, ultimately resulting in the Dutch slowly returning to the pits to retire the car. Red Bull’s bad luck does not end there; Sergio Perez’ engine seizes as he turns into the first corner, resulting in the team’s first double DNF since Austria 2020.

At the very front, Charles Leclerc secures his and Ferrari’s first win since the Italian Grand Prix in 2019. Carlos Sainz completes the Scuderia’s triumph by ensuring a 1-2 finish for the Maranello based outfit. Mercedes pick up the pieces left by Red Bull with Hamilton claiming the final podium position, with teammate George Russell completing the top four.

Other remarkable results include Kevin Magnussen’s fifth place in the Haas and Guanyu Zhou’s P10, which means the Chinese rookie is the 66th driver in the history of the sport to score points in his debut race.

Results Grand Prix Bahrain: