Strategies for the Bahrain Grand Prix: Verstappen the odd one out

Max Verstappen looks to be the odd one out in terms of tyre availability for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Dutchman will be at a disadvantage in terms of pure speed against both McLaren drivers this Sunday as he struggles behind the wheel of the RB21.

Even Mercedes and certainly Charles Leclerc's Ferrari may be faster than him, meaning the Red Bull Racing driver's best chance for a good result seems to be through a different strategy.

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The tyre degradation in Bahrain is significant on the RB21, potentially being the reason why Verstappen made sure to save two sets of the hardest tyres for the race over the past few days. On paper, the hard tyre should last longer than the medium and soft tyres.

The available tyres for Bahrain

Verstappen is the only driver in the entire field with two sets of hard Pirelli tyres left, with the consequence being that the Dutchman will only have one set of medium tyres for the Grand Prix, along with no fresh sets of soft tyres, only three used sets of the red-walled tyres.

Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc all have one new set of hard tyres and two sets of mediums. George Russell, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Yuki Tsunoda have one set of hard tyres and one set of mediums. None of these drivers have fresh softs left.

Possible Strategies

Tyre manufacturer Pirelli assume a two-stop strategy will be the most common strategy of choice, so Verstappen could have an advantage over the Mercedes drivers and his teammate Tsunoda thanks to the extra hard tyre.

It is known that the McLarens of Piastri and Norris can keep the tyres lasting longer, which explains why they opted for two fresh sets of mediums.

This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen