Max Verstappen shares what might help Red Bull’s rivals close the gap in Saudi Arabia

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Max Verstappen doesn’t expect Red Bull to be as dominant in this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after his emphatic victory in Bahrain.

Reigning world champion Verstappen made an ominous start to his title defence on Saturday as he led home a Red Bull 1-2, finishing a full 22 seconds clear of Sergio Perez.

The Dutchman says that the RB20 was particularly well-suited to the Bahrain International Circuit and suspects that rivals will close in Jeddah.

Verstappen secured a ‘grand slam’ in round one after beating Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc to pole position and setting the fastest lap of the race to claim the full 26 points.

Ferrari also proved to be the closest challengers on Sunday, though it was Carlos Sainz rather than Leclerc who completed the podium.

Mercedes were next-best as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and seventh respectively, separated by the McLaren of Lando Norris.

Verstappen says ‘completely different’ Jeddah will suit Red Bull rivals

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Verstappen suggested Red Bull wouldn’t find life quite as ‘easy’ in the second race of the season.

The majority of the field stopped twice in Bahrain, while most runners only pitted once in Saudi Arabia last season, owing to lower levels of tyre degradation.

“It’s a completely different track layout, a lot more high-speed corners,” he said. “The tarmac, of course, is completely different to what it is here, so less degradation.

“Naturally, probably that will help other teams as well compared to us. It seems like for us always it’s better to have these kind of tracks, so I don’t expect that to be easy.”

Verstappen and Red Bull already the overwhelming favourites for F1 titles

This year, Verstappen is bidding to become only the fifth F1 driver in history to win four consecutive world championships after Michael Schumacher (2000-2004), Juan Manuel Fangio (1954-1957), Sebastian Vettel (2010-2013) and Hamilton (2017-2020).

The Milton Keynes outfit didn’t set the pace in any of the three practice sessions in Bahrain, inspiring hope for their rivals, but ultimately head to Saudi Arabia having underlined their overwhelming advantage.

Verstappen, who has won praise from BBC pundit Alice Powell for his ‘unreal’ consistency, may only have to beat Perez to join the four-time champion club.