Lewis Hamilton reacts to ‘unfortunate’ Max Verstappen retirement at Bahrain Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton admits his rival Max Verstappen was ‘unfortunate’ as he suffered a late retirement at the Bahrain Grand Prix, allowing the Brit to pinch third place.

Charles Leclerc topped the podium, with his Ferrari teammate second, but it could have been very different if Verstappen had not been hit by issues with his car.

The Dutchman was second in the closing laps before suffering a problem which team boss Christian Horner described as ‘a lift pump or a collector or something along those lines.’

Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was also forced to retire with a similar problem in a nightmare start to the season for the team.

Hamilton had sympathy for the defending world champion, but was delighted to get on the podium.

‘Firstly a big congratulations to Ferrari,’ said Hamilton. ‘I am so happy to see them doing well again. It is such a historic, epic team. It is so great to see Charles [Leclerc] and Carlos [Sainz] up there as well – I am so happy for them.

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‘It was such a difficult race. We have struggled throughout practice and this is the best result we could have got. Of course it was unfortunate for the other two drivers but we did the best we could and we’re grateful for these points.

‘The guys are working hard back at the factory. It is not going to be a quick turnaround. I do feel like we have been the best most unified team for so long. We all know to keep our heads down and keep working as there is a long way to go.’

Leclerc used the same word to describe Verstappen’s