Max Verstappen furious after retirement in Bahrain

Reigning F1 drivers’ world champion Max Verstappen is livid after both he and his teammate, Sergio Perez, failed to finish the opening race of the season in Bahrain on Sunday. The two Red Bull cars had the worst possible start to the season after retiring in the closing laps due to reliability issues.

Verstappen and Perez qualified at second and fourth place respectively, with each of them following the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. While the Italian cars maintained a clear advantage throughout the race, the Red Bulls were able to stay competitive just a few seconds behind. In fact, after the first pit stops, Verstappen was able to take the lead from Leclerc a few times, only to be overtaken again just a few corners later.

In the end, a 2-4 finish would have been a great result for Red Bull, considering the engine braking and power steering issues that Verstappen was wrestling with for most of the race. Alas, things went completely downhill with three laps to go as Verstappen was forced to retire after noticing a loss of power. Two laps later, Perez was sent into a spin in the middle of the track as his own engine gave out.