“Oh my God that was difficult”: Full radio from Verstappen’s luckless Bahrain GP

Max Verstappen slogged away for a sixth-place finish in a Bahrain Grand Prix where fortune was never on his side.

He suffered two slow pit stops, for different reasons each time, which ruined the team’s efforts to keep him in contention by using the ‘undercut’. The Safety Car appeared soon after his final stop, playing into the hands of those who stayed out longer.

Meanwhile he continued to grapple with the RB21, which was far less co-operative in Bahrain than it had been when he won in Suzuka a week ago.

On past occasions when races haven’t gone his way, such as during the Hungarian Grand Prix last year, Verstappen has not spared his team his ire, firing off angry outbursts on his radio. On this occasion he was considerably more restrained, though he made his dissatisfaction with the team’s mistakes clear after taking the chequered flag.

Max Verstappen’s 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix radio

Stint 1: Soft
Stint 2: Hard
Stint 3: Medium
Finish

Stint 1: Soft

Verstappen was quick to spot rival Lando Norris had not lined up correctly in his grid box at the start. The McLaren driver duly received a penalty, but despite having lined up together on the grid, they never saw each other during the race.

The Red Bull driver also pointed the finger at Carlos Sainz Jnr after he passed the Williams driver on the outside of turn four.

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Stint 2: Hard

Red Bull made an early switch to the hard tyres, but problems with their pit exit lights kept Verstappen in his pit box for too long. This was one moment where his frustration appeared to get the better of him.

Once back on the track, things did not improve, as both Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton overtook him. Verstappen told his team he was powerless to defend.

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Stint 3: Medium

Red Bull brought Verstappen in early again for his final pit stop. But in an ironic twist, the Safety Car was deployed soon afterwards, due to debris caused by his team mate Yuki Tsunoda colliding with Carlos Sainz Jnr.

Verstappen knew he would restart the race with several drivers on fresher rubber immediately behind him. But his prediction he would prove easy meat for them proved pessimistic, partly because Jack Doohan immediately behind him struggled on his older hard tyres and fell back.

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Finish

Verstappen spent most of the rest of his final stint tracking sixth-placed Pierre Gasly, hanging just within DRS range of the Alpine. For the final lap, Red Bull told Verstappen he could use more of his maximum power mode to attack, and he duly nabbed sixth place. It was the only highlight of a tough afternoon.

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