Max Verstappen labelled ‘not smart enough’ with Bahrain Grand Prix tactic

A late safety car offer Verstappen a chance to get past Leclerc in Bahrain but the Ferrari driver held on to claim an opening win

Max Verstappen’s safety car restart at the Bahrain Grand Prix has been questioned with former Formula One driver Jan Lammers driver suggesting the defending champion had not been “smart enough” in his battle with Charles Leclerc.

Although Verstappen had challenged Leclerc early in the race, over three laps of gripping wheel-to-wheel racing, the Ferrari driver was set for a comfortable victory until a late safety car offered the Dutchman late hope.

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A fire to Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri allowed Verstappen to close the gap to leader Leclerc, in scenes that were similar to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, but he was unable to get ahead at the restart.

Verstappen attempted to pull off the same tactic he used at the Yas Marina Circuit last year, when he edged level with Lewis Hamilton before passing the Mercedes driver on the last lap of the season, but Leclerc was able to hold on to the lead this time around.

The Dutchman would later go on to retire from the race due to a fuel-flow issue, allowing Carlos Sainz to complete a Ferrari one-two, but Lammers remained critical of his compatriot following the restart.

Lammers, who started 23 races in his career, suggested that Verstappen went too tight into the corner after pulling alongside Leclerc, which led to the Ferrari driver being able to pull away.

“I’m not saying he’s doing anything wrong, but you have to wonder if he was smart enough to go inside,” Lammers said to Dutch TV station NOS.

“Leclerc was able to take the momentum into the last corner and Sainz was right down the neck of Verstappen, because he was able to take the corner normally.”

Verstappen failed to score a point on the opening weekend due to a fuel-flow issue (Getty Images)

Verstappen was also critical of his team during the race, with Christian Horner dismissing his driver’s suggestion that Red Bull had two opportunities to pass Leclerc but were too conservative with their tyre strategy.

Red Bull twice attempted to undercut the Ferrari driver by bringing Verstappen into the pits early but the defending champion was left furious after being told to look after his tyres on the out lap.

After the undercut failed and Leclerc retook the lead following his pit-stop, Verstappen vented his frustration on the team radio. “This is now two times that I take it easy on the out-lap, that I could have been in front,” he said. “I am never, ever doing it again!”

But explaining the exchange with Verstappen and Red Bull’s decision to play it safe on the out-lap, Horner told Sky Sports F1: “I think it’s always a fine margin. He felt that he could have done more, and I think that, combined with a slightly quicker stop than the Ferrari, had put us very very close to them.

“But I think even if we’d have made the pass, I think their pace was such that they would have, with overtaking being a little bit easier now, they would have just overtaken. They just had a quicker car, so congrats to them on their one-two finish, zero point for us is tough.”