The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix will not be forgotten early for Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, but for all the wrong reasons. During the fourth race of the season, in which McLaren’s Oscar Plastri obtained a convincing victory with a time of 1: 35: 39.435, Verstappen had to face a rare and expensive error from its otherwise reliable pit crew. A dramatic pit-stop, which lasted more than six seconds, left the four-time world champion shaking his head frustrated as he left the pits. The error cost him time and precious positions, resulting in a sixth disappointing place, 34.395 seconds behind the winner.

The race did not start ideally for Red Bull, with Verstappen starting from the fifth position after a difficult qualification. His teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is still finding his feet in the RB21, has started even further back to the ninth place. During the first period, Verstappen managed to make his way to fourth place, but the problems started during his first pit -st a problem with the right rear tire, which was not correctly positioned on the axis, caused a 6.8 second chaotic pit stop -an eternity in Formula 1, in which Red Bull normally performs the pit stops of about 2 seconds. It was a painful reminder of previous accidents, such as the 6.2 second stop at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, where Verstappen also showed his frustration by hitting his steering wheel.

The consequences of this error have been immediate. Verstappen, who was still running close to the first three before the pit stop, returned to the seventh position, behind Lewis Hamilton of theFerrariand Pierre Gasly of Alpine. Despite a strong rhythm in the final stages of the race, he was able to recover only a position, which earned him the sixth place with 8 points. The result was a bitter pill for the Dutchman, who later did not secret of his sorrow. “These types of errors should not happen. We all know how important a good pit stop is, and today we fired in the foot,” said Verstappen to the press, removing the helmet and shaking his head.

Christian Horner of the Red Bull team Christian Horner took responsibility, recognizing that the team had not respected their usual high standards. “Today we failed in an area where we normally excel. This was a human error and we will learn from it,” said Horner. He stressed that Red Bull, who dominated the fastest Pit stop DHL award for years with record times such as 1.82 seconds in Brazil in 2019, has fought with inconsistency in the pits several times this season. The accident in Bahrein presents himself at the top of previous problems, such as the Japanese Grand Prix at the beginning of this season, where a slow pit stop has almost cost Verstappen his victory while fighting with Lando Norris at the exit of the pit.

For Red Bull, this is an alarm bell in a season in which McLaren has called the shots. With plestments and Norris who scored 40 points in Bahrain, McLaren has increased the command in the manufacturers’ championship, while Red Bull collected only 10 points. The ninth place of Tsunoda, 45,061 seconds behind the winner, underlined the problems within the team. The RB21 does not seem to be the dominant car that Red Bull had in previous years and the inconsistency both in services and in pit stops is starting to threaten their possibilities of the title. While Verstappen remains one of the favorites for the championship, this type of setback is a rare stain in its record otherwise. The Dutchman will undoubtedly be determined to recover in subsequent races, but for Red Bull it is essential to review their processes and bring their pit stop back to their usual high level level. In a sport in which every second counts, an error of six seconds can mean the difference between winning and losing. The Formula 1 caravan now passes to Jeddah, where Verstappen and Red Bull will spend on an impeccable weekend to bring their season back on the track.