How the FIA yet again became the unwanted protagonist of the media day in Bahrain

20:11, 10 Apr

byTim Kraaij

A week after the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen's performance was not forgotten. However, the Dutchman was not the center of attention on media day in Bahrain. That role was unintentionally taken by the FIA. A report on the first day of the race weekend in Bahrain.

In Bahrain, it is always a fun game to start the day with: guess the word that is actually sung in this song. European music is broadcast on Radio Bahrain, but with a lot of words beeped out and some words replaced. In Europe, some radio stations also do this, but in Bahrain, some songs become a true puzzle due to all the differences.

It was warm in Bahrain for the media day, very different from a few months ago during the winter test. Back then it was 20 degrees and a strong wind created cold conditions in the paddock. None of that during the media day, where the temperature rose to 38 degrees in the afternoon. Some teams anticipated this by organizing the session indoors in the air conditioning, while others conducted the session outdoors. The result: sweaty driver and journalists.

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The Bahrain Grand Prix 2025

Why Alonso is a big fan of Verstappen

One of the topics of discussion on the paddock was once again Max Verstappen. The Dutchman had indeed shown something with his performance in Japan. Especially Fernando Alonso continued to praise Verstappen, who in Alonso's eyes is the best in Formula 1 and performs at a completely different level.

‘There were periods of dominance in the last twenty years in Formula 1. Great teams and drivers, but the victories were somewhat easy. In Max's case, except for 2023, he faced serious competition in 2022 and also last year. In 2021, of course, completely. The championships that Max has won, except for those in 2023, Max had to fight more for them than the titles (of other drivers) in previous seasons.’

After Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda also found it challenging to keep up with Max Verstappen in the first race weekend. However, this did not deter Isack Hadjar. With a big grin, he actually said he wants to know what's going on and wants to step next to Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

The FIA under fire again

The FIA was again inadvertently a topic of conversation after Robert Reid's statement. On the paddock, the umpteenth incident mainly elicited resigned reactions. Especially George Russell's reaction was telling: “Unfortunately, I think every time we hear some news from that side of the sport, it's not really a big surprise,” Russell resignedly expressed.

It epitomizes the feelings of many on the paddock. Time and time again, such reports come out about the FIA, but real changes seem not to follow. “We've been talking about this on and off for six months now and in all honesty, I don't even want to give it any more air time from my own personal perspective, because we've said everything we've had to say over these months and unfortunately it's had little or no impact,” the Brit stated.

Will V10 engines return to F1?

The timing of all this is also remarkable. On Friday, a meeting is scheduled between F1, FIA, and the engine manufacturers with the topic being V10 engines. A topic that is particularly supported by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who is attending his first race of the season in Bahrain.

However, the FIA president cannot count on much support. Most manufacturers have invested heavily in the engines for the new regulations of 2026 and are therefore not eager to switch to new engines shortly after. Especially Audi, making its entry into the sport with these new engines, is against a switch to V10 engines.

All drivers are open to V10 engines, although it is clear to them that this cannot happen overnight. What is clear: many drivers are excited about the 2026 regulations. A switch to something new would not be a big problem for the drivers, but as Russell said, what the drivers think seems to have little influence on the end result.