Max Verstappen explains unusual tyre strategy in Bahrain GP practice

Max Verstappen and F1 returned to the Sepang International Circuit for the first time since his race win at the circuit in 2017.

This time, it is for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Dutch driver found instant success as he topped the timesheets in Free Practice 1 for Red Bull.

However, it was not all smooth sailing for Verstappen, as, like others, he noted the high degradation that the circuit is causing, which is a problem he will need to solve.

After Friday Practice, Verstappen said, “I think we had a decent start, but it's tricky. The track is really hot, so there is a lot of degradation, so a lot of things to figure out, but it's been positive.”

In Free Practice 2, the four-time world champion ended the day in fourth place and did not manage to improve on his time from Free Practice 1.

However, the lack of improvement could have been due to Verstappen’s different program that he ran, so he is currently unsure if he made any progress between the two sessions.

“I mean, progress is difficult,” he stated. “You know, it was warmer again in FP2, a different program. So, hard to say progress, but still a lot of things to look at, to try and to try and understand better.”

The most notable part of Verstappen’s running during the opening day at the Sepang International Circuit was that he did not use soft tyres in the second session.

Verstappen and his Red Bull crew opted to use medium tyres throughout the entirety of Free Practice 2, after he used two sets of softs in the opening session of the weekend.

When asked about this decision, the 29-year-old confirmed that it was all part of the plan, as there was a chance it would rain during the final session of the day.

Verstappen explained, “I wanted to do a long run in case there was some rain coming in.”

There will be one more chance for Verstappen to make further improvements on Saturday ahead of the crucial qualifying session, as it is expected to be dry during Free Practice 3.