What is the technical explanation behind Verstappen's problems in Bahrain?

After the Bahrain Grand Prix it became clear that Max Verstappen was facing problems during the race. A differential problem cost the Dutchman around three tenths per lap, was claimed by Helmut Marko. F1-journalist Mark Hughes explains at Formula1.com Hughes what caused Verstappen to lose those three tenths to Lewis Hamilton.

Hughes explains that an open differential makes the car easy to drive. A fully closed differential regulates that the tyres have to spin at the same speed and therefore the car steers in faster. "Verstappen noticed early on that his tyres were spinning quickly on the inside of Turn 1-2, so he locked the differential a bit more."

This is also what appeared on his steering wheel, but that action was ultimately not performed.

Verstappen had to hold back

According to Hughes, that's not an immediate problem, but it did cause more problems. "That already lost him some lap time, but because the tyres spun, the tyres got a lot hotter as well."

On a track like Bahrain, in the middle of the desert, maintaining tyre temperature is extremely important. Hence, Verstappen also had to hold back.

"Verstappen had to drive the rest of his laps more conservatively than he would have liked, to make sure the tyre temperature at the rear didn't shoot through the roof. That also allowed Hamilton in his Mercedes to stay close to him in the race and perform the undercut during the first pit stops," Hughes concludes.