Max Verstappen was happy with his car before a collision with Lewis Hamilton caused him to retire from the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Dutchman made an attempt to overtake the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport car of Hamilton into turn one before contact on the exit caused a puncture.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car limped back to the pits but Vertsappen retired shortly after due to the damage caused by the contact.
“Due to the hit with Lewis we sustained some more severe damage than just the puncture, we haven’t had a chance to look at the car yet but we suspect the differential.” Said Verstappen.
The Dutchman had started in fifteenth after his crash in qualifying but was making his way up the order quickly before his incident with Hamilton and was enjoying the way the car was handling.
“From the start I was enjoying the feel of the car and finding the gaps and it was shaping up to be an exciting race.
“I had a good tow on the straight, the last corner was really good so it allowed me to stay close to Lewis.
“We got a bit squeezed but from the middle to the end of the corner I was ahead, I then felt a nudge from behind and could feel the puncture and therefore knew the race was likely over.”
Verstappen questioned the decision by the stewards not to investigate the incident further.
“In my opinion there was plenty of room for the both of us to go around that corner and to say ‘no action taken’ is a bit harsh as I am now out of the race due to that contact on my left rear.
“If it was the other way around I’m sure he would want it looked into.”
