Max Verstappen tempered expectations ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, despite defeating the McLarens in Japan.
However, the opening day of practice at the Bahrain International Circuit proved Verstappen right to be cautious, as McLaren dominated at the top of the timesheets.
Verstappen only drove in the second practice session after being replaced by Ayumu Iwasa for FP1 but struggled at the wheel of the RB21 throughout.
Red Bull’s current problem with tyres overheating was very apparent in Bahrain. Oscar Piastri was eight-tenths faster than Verstappen, leaving the Dutchman in seventh.
Five-tenths of that was lost in just the second sector, highlighting the RB21’s issues with changing direction and pushing the…