Hamilton consistently went behind the curb on the corner’s exit, yet Verstappen was penalized for doing it only once.
Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton around the outside of Turn 4 at the Sakhir circuit, with five laps remaining. This was, however, considered illegal as the Red Bull driver went beyond the track’s limits in his attempt. Race director Michael Masi immediately ordered Verstappen to hand over the spot he had won back to Hamilton.
Drivers were not allowed to cut behind the curb on the corner’s exit in the second and third practice session, as well as in the qualifying round. However, the stewards cautioned that they would be more forgiving during the race unless such limits were violated to gain a clear advantage, such as when overtaking.
Knowing Mercedes had repeatedly used the outside of Turn 4, Max accelerated early to overtake Hamilton. Max was well aware that he would most likely run off the track, but he felt that it was now his time after Hamilton’s success in the same thing. But things didn’t go as he would have planned.
The Red Bull driver was successful in his attempt and clinched the first position. But his happiness was short-lived when his team instructed him to return behind the Mercedes as per the race director’s comments.
After the race, Hamilton admitted skipping the curve multiple times. To be precise, he did that in 29 of the 56 laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix! Later, his team informed him to stop this practice, or a penalty would be imposed.
Several controversies claim that the rules were changed in the middle of the race, which’s unfair. However, Formula 1 race director Michael Masi explained, “Nothing changed at all. We had two people that were looking in that area at every car, every lap, and pretty much every car bar one was doing the right thing within what we expected in a general sequence.”
In the driver’s meeting held on Friday about the track limits, Masi made it “very clear” that if an off-track overtake occurs, and the car gains a significant advantage, he will go on the radio and instruct the team to give up that spot instantly.
Of course, we can only guess as to what would have happened if Verstappen had disobeyed the order and waited for a time penalty after crossing the finish line. Should a 5-second penalty have been imposed? Would that have been enough to be ahead of Hamilton? We’ll never know for sure.
