Max Verstappen once again produced a strong performance at the season opener in Bahrain this past Saturday. The Dutchman was so dominant that he finished the race a whopping 22.457s ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Therefore, not much seems to have changed on the track as all the teams continue to chase Red Bull. However, amid Verstappen’s outstanding dominance, F1 fan Jeremy Clarkson has made some statements that might embarrass the rival teams.
At the Bahrain track, the former Top Gear host was seen discussing his thoughts about the season opener with Martin Brundle. During the chat, Clarkson said, “I spent all of today looking at the lap times from last year to this year, and wondering – what have they all been doing over the winter?”
Clarkson has long admired Verstappen and Red Bull. Apart from that, he followed the sport very carefully and witnessed the Austrian team dominate the track the previous year. While Clarkson believes that the gap between the teams have been similar to last year, he did acknowledge McLaren’s fantastic progression.
The 63-year-old claimed that McLaren has massively improved, which he believes is an ‘anomaly.’ He explained this by claiming that, in his view, it is strange for a team to be this good from one year to another, that too without making many changes.
Max Verstappen’s easy win in Bahrain GP raises concerns for the rivals
After the pre-season testing, practice, and qualifying rounds, there were rumors that the pack might have come closer. Max Verstappen’s dominance in the race, however, quickly put an end to such beliefs. In addition, Verstappen’s lead over Sergio Perez has left everyone wondering whether the 26-year-old will be as dominant this season as he was last year.
However, a closer examination reveals that his outstanding accomplishment in Bahrain was exaggerated with the assistance of his rivals. Except for Perez, nobody else in the leading pack had a smooth race.
For example, Carlos Sainz fought a hard battle with George Russell and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Moreover, both Russell and Leclerc also faced issues of their own.
The Briton experienced serious concerns with the engine’s cooling system, while the Monegasque struggled with persistent brake issues. As a result of the same, they were never in a position to challenge Verstappen for the win. Further down, McLaren have never performed well at the Bahrain track.
This is because the team constantly has trouble on a circuit where there are several slow-speed corners. Meanwhile, Aston Martin seem to have suffered a massive drop in performance compared to last year, as Fernando Alonso just did not have the pace to keep up with the drivers ahead.
