Max Verstappen revealed that he had doubts when he saw Lewis Hamilton starting the Bahrain race on slick tyres, with the two Formula 1 drivers later comparing their impressions of the difficult track conditions. Tyre choice was one of the key talking points of the race, particularly as the circuit appeared to be drying while a considerable amount of water remained on the asphalt.
The discussion took place in the post-podium area, where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton exchanged views on the state of the track and the decision to use slick tyres. For Ferrari and the other teams, judging the crossover point between wet-weather rubber and slicks was particularly delicate in those conditions.
Max Verstappen explains his doubts over Lewis Hamilton’s slick tyres
Max Verstappen explained to Lewis Hamilton why the decision initially raised concerns for him: “When I saw you starting on slicks, I had some doubts. The track looked like it had dried, but there was still quite a lot of water in the asphalt.”
Lewis Hamilton immediately confirmed that he had experienced a similar feeling from the cockpit: “Yes, that’s exactly what I was saying.”
The exchange highlighted how difficult the tyre decision had been despite the increasingly dry appearance of the circuit. Readers can explore compound choices and stint trends in the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis, while further updates on the seven-time world champion are available in the Lewis Hamilton section.
For both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the visual appearance of the track did not fully reflect the amount of water still present, making the decision to switch to slick tyres far less straightforward than it might have appeared.
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