Verstappen wanted team 'to let him go' against Hamilton

Max Verstappen says he would have preferred to take a time penalty and try to pull out a 5-second lead against Lewis Hamilton rather than hand the lead back to the Mercedes driver.

Sunday's Bahrain GP delivered a thrilling showdown between the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers, with Verstappen pulling out the stops to catch and overhaul Hamilton in the final laps of the race.

The Dutchman managed to latch on to the Mercedes with four laps to go and then pass his rival on the outside of Turn 4. But the Red Bull driver put all four wheels off the track as he gained the upper hand, a move typically frowned upon by the stewards.

©RedBull

Verstappen subsequently gave back the leading position but lost momentum in the process, allowing Hamilton to secure his 96th F1 win.

On the cool down lap, Verstappen questioned why the team had not "let him go" and allow him a chance to build a lead in the final laps in excess of the 5-second penalty.

"Why didn't you let me go? I could have easily got the five seconds. I prefer to lose like that than to be second like this," Verstappen quipped over the radio.

Read also: Hamilton hangs on to beat Verstappen in thrilling opener

Horner responded by saying that the team had been ordered by race control to hand back the position to Hamilton.

"It's of course a shame but you also have to see the positive," Verstappen said after the race. "We're really putting the fight on to them and I think that's great to start the year like that."

In his effort to reel in Hamilton a second time, Verstappen appeared to lose ground in the low-speed corners, an issue he had experienced since the start of the race.

"I don't know what happened there, I don't think that was completely solved the whole race in the low-speed corners," he added.

"We'll have a look at that, but overall we managed to finish the race of course, and score good points."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.