Max Verstappen took the positives from the opening race of the 2021 Formula 1 season despite losing out to Lewis Hamilton at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Dutch driver was on course for victory but overtook Hamilton off the track and was ordered by the team to give the position back. Despite Verstappen's efforts in the closing laps, he failed to reclaim the lead. "It's of course a shame but you also have to see the positive," said Verstappen. "We're really putting the fight on to them [Mercedes] and I think that's a great start to the season." Verstappen suffered with a differential problem throughout the race which cost him precious time coming out of the low speed corners. He is unsure of how the issue came about. "I don't know what happened there, I don't think it was completely solved for race in the low speed corners," added Verstappen "We'll have to have look at that, but overall I mean we managed to finish the race and score good points."
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