Verstappen sees dropping 'important points' as disappearing

Red Bull scored zero points in the first race of the season. Some would say that the season is still long and nothing is lost yet, but Max Verstappen seems to be slightly worried.

Verstappen competed at the front for the entire race, and the Dutchman even had some chances to overtake Charles Leclerc. The speed of Ferrari was very good this weekend, so Verstappen couldn't get past Leclerc and things even ended much worse for the Red Bull driver. A problem with the fuel pump caused the Dutchman to put his car in the garage four laps before the finish and had to abandon the race. Teammate Sergio Perez also failed to score points, as he spun in Turn 1 under pressure from Lewis Hamilton. It later emerged that the Mexican was also experiencing problems with his RB18.

Is Verstappen worried?

There are still 21 confirmed races to go, likely to be 22, so a possible second title for Verstappen does not seem lost yet. That's one way to look at it, but Verstappen himself emphasizes that the team did lose very precious points this race. The Sun quotes what the Dutchman had to say to the media in Bahrain: "To lose so many points for the team is very disappointing, because of the championship where it can often be very tight at the end. These are very important points." 

There is a good chance Verstappen's failure in Bahrain will not be decisive, but in Formula 1 it is important to grab every point there is to grab. Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton clearly showed that in their title fight last year as both drivers started with an equal number of points in the last race. After more than twenty races neither driver had managed to force an advantage for that final Grand Prix.