Verstappen's floor damage cost him 0.1s per lap
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says Max Verstappen carried damage worth approximately 0.1 seconds for the rest of Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying after his Q1 kerb strike.
Verstappen, who went on to claim the first pole position of the 2021 season ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, went hard over the kerbs on the exit of the Turn 2 left-hander on his first run of qualifying.
The Dutchman radioed his Red Bull team to ask for his rear floor to be checked, with TV images capturing several carbon strakes bouncing behind the car as he accelerated out of Turn 3 and onto the Bahrain track's second straight.
When asked about the incident in the post-qualifying press conference, Verstappen said: "I ran a bit wide - I think there was a little bit of damage, but it was still fine", but Horner revealed that he did pick up laptime-costing damage.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Red Bull team boss said: "He smacked the bottom of the car pretty hard, because they run so low, that we've lost a couple of bits of carbon under the front of the car there.
"Maybe he was carrying about a tenth's worth of damage through the rest of the sessions."
Horner also outlined his thoughts on how the damage enhanced his view of Verstappen's performance in the following two segments of qualifying, on his way to taking his fourth career pole by 0.388s
"If you think in the first run of Q1, when it's not that pressured, then you think 'oh no!'," said Horner. "Not to big up that damage, but he's handled that incredibly well."
Verstappen's Bahrain pole is his second in succession after he topped qualifying for the final race of the 2020 season.
This ends a trend in recent seasons of Red Bull starting campaigns slower than it would like in comparison to rival squad Mercedes and having to catch up with aggressive car development.
Verstappen said to start a season with pole rather than end one was not a feeling of "relief".
"That's what you always aim for, right?" he added. "Of course the last few years it hasn't really materialised.
"But in a way the regulations haven't really changed a lot and I think we knew what our weaknesses were last year. And it seems like we addressed them so far at the beginning of the year.
"Of course [I'm] very happy with that. Great start for us but of course no guarantees for the future."
Share Or Save This Story
Who is Kimi Antonelli, F1 sprint polesitter at just 18?
Why Bottas has the edge over Perez in 2026 F1 return race
What if Red Bull solved its second-car problem with a paint job?
David Coulthard explains why Robin Raikkonen's rise resembles Max Verstappen's
Max Verstappen jokes about Kimi Antonelli’s F1 lead: “I’m definitely not having a comeback!”
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
Yuki Tsunoda reveals why he failed to master Red Bull's F1 car in 2025
“I’m not enjoying life” – How Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull F1 stint “exhausted” him
The hidden benefit of Max Verstappen’s new F1 deal that Red Bull wants to exploit
Williams shares behind-the-scenes look at Alex Albon’s life away from F1
Paul Miller Racing goes “full push” for elusive IMSA GTD Pro title
Jorge Martin “scared” about going into surgery: “I don’t have good memories”
MotoGP plans to introduce two qualifying sessions each weekend, following F1 model
Italy’s next F1 world champion?
What's behind the talks between the FIA president and Fernando Alonso over ADUO?
Fernando Alonso is right to sound the alarm about F1 - but history seems to be repeating itself
F1 doesn't need to change its VSC rules despite Lando Norris' Spain loss
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments