Max Verstappen almost crashes minutes after winning Bahrain Grand Prix

F1 preview: A lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix

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Max Verstappen almost crashed in the pit lane just minutes after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Red Bull star appeared to lose control of the RB19 as he drove over a ramp onto the winner’s rostrum.

Verstappen appeared to light up his rear tyres which shook the car in a near miss for the reigning champion. But, the Red Bull star didn’t appear affected as he ran over to congratulate his engineers after jumping out of the car.

The Dutchman cruised to victory in the opening race of the season as Red Bull picked up a one-two finish. After the chequered flag, Verstappen stressed the team had a good race package which could fight for the title.

He said: “It was a very good first stint where I made my gap and from there it was just looking after the tyres. You never really know what is going to happen later on in the race so we wanted to have the right tyres in good condition as well.

“Very happy to also finally win here in Bahrain. I think we have a good race package. We can definitely fight with this and also a big thank you to the team again for what they have done over the winter to have a quick race car again.”

Verstappen enjoyed a comfortable start to the race as team-mate Sergio Perez battled with the Ferrari’s behind. The squabbling allowed Verstappen to open up a two-second lead after just a couple of laps with the gap out to almost four seconds three laps later. 

The reigning champion was able to extend his lead by around six-tenths per lap before settling into a rhythm as he enjoyed a 10 second advantage over Perez throughout the Grand Prix.

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Verstappen’s only headache came in the early stages as the 25-year-old reported a potential gearbox issue. He moaned: “Downshifts are giving me a bit of rear locking.”

However, the problem appeared to subside with Verstappen enjoying his first win of the season. Perez had a sterner challenge to beat the Ferraris but used strategy to his advantage to get the better of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

Verstappen and Perez teased that Red Bull would have good race pace after qualifying yesterday. There were suggestions the team had compromised on their Saturday performance to focus on Sunday despite Verstappen securing pole.

The one-two finish comes 12 months after Red Bull suffered a double DNF at the 2022 season opener.

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