After last week’s brilliant win in Suzuka, it’s almost paradoxical that finishing sixth in Bahrain could feel like a relief for Red Bull. Yet, judging by what was seen at Sakhir — both in the overall progression of the weekend and in the race itself — the sixth place secured by Max Verstappen is oxygen in the midst of a crisis.
All weekend, Red Bull faced the same recurring issues seen at other races: lack of performance, imperfect balance, and excessive tyre degradation. If in Japan the new asphalt had helped mask these problems, in Bahrain — one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar in terms of tyre management — all the weaknesses were laid bare.
Interestingly, these problems could already have been anticipated. Verstappen was the only driver among the top teams with two sets of hard tyres, the hardest compound, confirming that the Milton Keynes team expected to struggle with tyre wear and chose to prepare accordingly.
The problem is that the hard turned out to be unsuitable for the race — in fact, it was realistically the least effective compound used in the Grand Prix.
As expected, the medium proved the best choice, especially considering that this year it has been made softer, becoming a good alternative to the more durable but significantly slower hard.
The difficulties with the hard tyres were clear from the start, so much so that even Jack Doohan — who was on mediums and had stopped a lap earlier than the Dutchman — not only managed to match the pace of the three-time world champion but also got close enough to enter the DRS zone.
To make the day even harder came unusually slow pit stops — quite the paradox for a team that for years has been the fastest and most consistent on the grid. While the first tyre change was delayed by a traffic light issue (which also affected Yuki Tsunoda), a problem with the front right wheel slowed down the second stop.
The Safety Car reshuffled the order, with Verstappen having stopped just a couple of laps before the neutralisation to ditch the hard and switch to the medium, knowing he would have to complete a final stint of over thirty laps.
With the field bunched up again and some rivals on less effective compounds, Verstappen managed to maintain good pace and recover some positions, overtaking Pierre Gasly on the final lap and claiming sixth place. A result that, without a doubt, cannot be considered acceptable if the goal is to fight for the title.
As if the lack of pace weren’t enough, the Bahrain difficulties were compounded by two far-from-perfect pit stops and, above all, brake issues, which Verstappen complained about in both qualifying and the race, despite a change of brake material before the start.
After finishing 34 seconds behind the winner, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, the team called an impromptu meeting with its key figures at the track to discuss the next steps: Christian Horner, advisor Helmut Marko, technical director Pierre Wache, and chief engineer Paul Monaghan — the main pillars of Red Bull Racing.
“It’s a very difficult day for Red Bull, that’s clear to all of us,” said Marko to journalists, including Motorsport.com, after the meeting. “We need to quickly get good performance back from the car, and the pit stops also need to work again. The car isn’t the fastest, and the pit stops aren’t working. This is not acceptable.”
When asked by Motorsport.com how concerning the Bahrain misstep was, Marko did not hide the seriousness of the situation, emphasizing that the win in Suzuka is not enough to erase everything. Australia brought a second place, while in China some strategy errors masked the real potential of the RB21. However, ups and downs like these don’t allow the team to challenge McLaren with the consistency needed to stay in the fight.
“It’s very alarming. We know we’re not competitive, and we’ll be making changes in the next races, hoping they work. We have a lot of problems. The main one is the balance. On top of that, there were brake issues. And then the pit stops didn’t work. It’s been one issue after another.”
Even Verstappen, in his post-race comments, gave a blunt assessment of what happened: “Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. The pace was terrible. We have our problems, and even if you win a race, those problems don’t go away. We need to keep discussing and try to improve.”
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