Max Verstappen's Race Engineer Frustrated Over Radio During Bahrain: "I'll Get Bored"

Verstappen was simply too fast, despite being asked to slow down.

Hold onto your helmets, folks, because it looks like Red Bull Racing are set to reign supreme in the 2023 Formula 1 season. The recent Bahrain Grand Prix saw the team dominate the track, with Max Verstappen leading his teammate to a front-row lockout in qualifying and then taking an impressive win in the main event.

It wasn't just the victory that caught the attention of F1 fans worldwide, however. Reports have emerged that Verstappen was actually told to slow down during the race, indicating that Red Bull had a lot more left in the tank. It's unclear whether the request was made to avoid any potential issues with the car, if it was simply to prevent the race from becoming a blowout, or if it was simply to stop Max and the car from working too hard.

Regardless of the reasoning, the fact that Verstappen was able to slow down by a whopping 0.7 seconds per lap and still win the race by a considerable margin is nothing short of astounding. It's little wonder that rival teams are already bracing themselves for a Red Bull domination.

Max was confused by the demand that came through his radio, as he questioned his gap between him and teammate Sergio Perez behind. 

"There is no race at the moment," the reply simply stated. But Verstappen didn't slow down, so his engineer continued, obviously a little frustrated: 

“Max, so you’re looking for plus 0.7 on the dash, I’ll get bored of this so just do it please."

Mercedes driver George Russell has already made his prediction for the season, telling the media that he expects Red Bull to win every single race. And it's not hard to see why - the pace gap between Red Bull and the rest of the grid is just too vast for anyone else to catch up.

While the rest of the grid looks competitive from P3 downwards, it's clear that Red Bull will take some serious stopping if they're to be beaten to either championship this year. But with the 2023 season only just beginning, who knows what twists and turns lie ahead? One thing's for sure - it's going to be a thrilling ride.