Brawn disappointed Verstappen and Leclerc couldn't compete in Sakhir

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc's race came to a premature end in Sakhir after the pair were involved in a first lap incident. Ross Brawn has admitted he was disappointed that Verstappen and Leclerc weren't able to compete on the outer loop.

Verstappen and Leclerc had both done very well on Saturday so they could start from the second row on Sunday. However, Leclerc spun Sergio Perez, causing Verstappen to take evasive action that ended with him in the barrier.

''It was frustrating that two big stars were taken away from us so early in the race, when Leclerc and Verstappen dropped out in the first lap. Max would have driven a strong race on Sunday, where Leclerc might have been higher than what was actually possible. However, he could have managed that with his talent," said Brawn in his column for Formula1.com.

''It was a very daring action by Charles and he paid the price for it on the track, as well as a grid penalty for Abu Dhabi. That incident also caused Sergio Perez to be found at the back of the grid by a spider, but in his case that created an enormous opportunity."