Max Verstappen could not intimidate Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc kept the home side in the game with a magnificent save when Max Verstappen delivered an almost perfect free kick to the far post. AOP
Red Bull once again showed its tactical skills in the Bahrain race.
Max Verstappen had already clearly missed the lead Charles Leclerckin on the ride when the stable decided to take the Dutchman to the depot.
The powerful undercut sucked Leclerc’s lead, and Verstappen immediately thirsted to the top of the race.
For years, the reigning world champion has conveyed a picture of himself as a rabid and at times even dangerous driver. Verstappen has relied on the fact that in a tight spot, a competitor will dodge if there is a potentially dangerous collision as an alternative.
For example, last year Lewis Hamilton considered that he will have so many opportunities to win Verstappe at his pure race speed during the season that it is not worth the British to risk his own health in every race.
Ingenious defense
On Sunday in Bahrain, however, Verstappen was faced with a new one. Indeed, Leclerc was not afraid of a close fight at the top of the race.
– This is a tough race, as we’ve seen with Max before. But I’m also an aggressive driver, the Monaco said after the race.
Leclerc came up with a rather ingenious way to fight Verstappen. Instead of trying to cover up the Dutch overtaking attempts, the Ferrari driver gave way and braked even exceptionally early to the first turn.
He offered first place as a tray.
– I knew what he was trying to do. I waited and actually wanted it. I knew that if he didn’t overtake me at the main end, he would certainly do it in a quadruple with DRS, Leclerc reasoned.
– That’s why I braked to the first turn exceptionally early so that I would be right behind him at the DRS measurement site. That’s how I got a clean attack spot in the fours, and it worked every time.
New World Cup leader
The situation was so obvious that it is no wonder that Verstappen himself did not notice it. He banged his head against the wall with overpasses to the main straight, though Leclerc checked in every time a couple of turns later.
– I was only surprised once he locked his brakes in passing. But that didn’t become any problem for me either. It’s about a typical race, the hard one. We’re used to seeing Max like that.
The story continues after the picture.
Leclerc is the first Monaco player in F1 history to lead the World Series. AOP
From now on, Verstapp also knows that he no longer has the exclusive right to play on the track. Leclerc defended not only his own but also the right of other drivers to defend themselves against the bully.
– I enjoy the fierce and at the same time fair competition. I don’t think anything wrong happened in that situation, Leclerc smiled.
With the victory in the opening race in Bahrain, the Ferrari driver became the first monaco driver in history to lead the Formula One World Championship.
Red Bull was eventually doomed to a double outage when a malfunction occurred in the fuel pumps of both cars. Even slower than the energy drink giant all weekend, Mercedes will start the second race firmly ahead of Red Bull.
Watch the video for a compilation of Bahraini GP events. Formula 1 races can be watched on Elisa Entertainment Viaplays and V sport channels.