Red Bull tyre plan lacks grip in Bahrain

History played a part in Red Bull’s attempts to bring Max Verstappen into play for the Bahrain Grand Prix. He had won both previous races here using an offset tyre strategy to the other teams. His combination of two sets of C3 softs plus one C1 hard in 2023 and ’24 exaggerated his superiority over the others who were forced to use two set of hards and one soft as they’d needed to use up more sets of softs than the Red Bull in getting through qualifying. But this time the offset was more about trying to get a result which transcended the car’s uncompetitiveness here, Verstappen’s victory in the preceding Japanese Grand Prix notwithstanding.

This year’s race was again a two-stop, such is the thermal stress imposed on the rear tyres by the circuit’s layout and rough surface. But the ’25 Pirellis are rather different to those of the two preceding years. The constructions are tougher and the C2 medium is a more aggressive compound, much closer to the C3 than previously.

Red Bull this time offset its tyre strategy in a different way, hoping that the C1 hard would prove the best race compound and so saving both sets. This involved not using the hard tyre through Friday and Saturday – though it had tried it here in pre-season testing. McLaren and Ferrari preferred to save two of the allocated three sets of mediums for the race, believing it to be the faster tyre and had each used up one of their sets of hards (per car) in the practices. Mercedes was trying to retain as many softs as possible and had only one set of hards and mediums each for the race.

Verstappen started the race, like most others, on the soft tyre. Knowing it would be switching to a set of hards at the first stop gave Red Bull the confidence to make an early attempt at undercutting Kimi Antonelli for sixth. That bid failed through the 2sec delay caused by a traffic light malfunction in the pits. But the C1 hard tyre was far worse than hoped, Verstappen reporting that he had “no grip”. There was no compensation in better degradation rates as it became clear the C2 medium – as chosen by most others at the first stops – was a better tyre on the day, with comparable degradation and around 0.3sec faster.

Verstappen came in for his second stop on lap 26, so as to maximise his time on the medium tyre – and suffered a further delay with a sticking front wheel. With most of the field yet to pit he rejoined last but worked his way through the cars. He was quicker on this tyre but still a long way off the McLarens and Mercedes. With the Alpine of Gasly ahead of him forced onto the hards at his second stop by the timing of a safety car, Verstappen was at able to use his mediums to pass him on the last lap. For sixth.

It had been a viable throw of the dice because of the car’s lack of competitiveness. But it simply didn’t work.