Max Verstappen explains difficulty driving after Red Bull’s self-inflicted problem in Bahrain

Verstappen had to contend with a significant issue before being forced out of the Bahrain Grand Prix

Max Verstappen was forced to retire from the Bahrain Grand Prix (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Max Verstappen has revealed the extent of Red Bull’s self-inflicted problems during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Dutchman’s defence of his maiden Formula 1 world title got off to a disastrous start, with both Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez failing to finish at the Sakhir Circuit.

The 24-year-old had appeared set to take second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but an issue with his car’s fuelling system meant he could not continue and took no points after a retirement.

It was not the only issue for Verstappen during the race.

After his second pit-stop, the Red Bull mechanics dropped Verstappen’s car too quickly, bending a track rod connecting to one of his wheels and making the car “reallly difficult to drive”.

“The steering issue was not easy to drive [around] because of not having a feeling of what the car was doing because it was not natural,” explained Verstappen.

“You can lose power steering and it is just heavy but this was almost stuck in places so it was really difficult to drive.

“Of course, the big problem was what happened afterwards where it looked like there was no fuel coming to the engine and basically everything just turned off so I rolled back into the pit lane.”

Despite Mercedes’ lacking the race pace of both Ferrari and Red Bull, the German team got off to a solid start with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell securing third and fourth place respectively.

The early blow could prove crucial for Red Bull, who look set to be part of a potential three-team title fight.

Verstappen fears losing out on the 18 points he was in line to receive for second will be costly.

“It’s disappointing,” he explained. “You always say to yourself and to the team as well that we have to score points.

“It doesn’t matter if it is first or second in the first race weekend.

“You could see that. In turn one, I didn’t risk too much and in the fight with Charles, it was all clean and I was like ‘I’m happy with second here’ but to lose so many points for the team is very disappointing because you know in a championship where sometimes it can be very tight at the end, these are very important points.”