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The final lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix saw Red Bull’s Sergio Perez spin round due to engine issues as Lewis Hamilton managed to grab the final podium place. But F1 fanatics have joked that the Briton may have forced Perez into an error.
The 2022 season got underway under the lights in Bahrain on Sunday and Ferrari grabbed their first win in 45 races. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz took the first two steps on the podium while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished third.
However, the top three might have looked a bit different if both the Red Bull cars had finished the race. Unfortunately, the Austrian team suffered engine issues as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had to retire their cars just before the chequered flag.
While 2nd placed Verstappen’s had to retire his car three laps before the end of the race, Perez, who spun around on the final lap at Turn 1, had Lewis Hamilton right behind him before the Mercedes star eventually passed him.
Initially, it appeared as if Hamilton had touched the back of Perez’s car but replays suggested that the Mexican driver had a spin by himself. The Red Bull star revealed that he lost the engine on the turn and it made him spin.
However, fans on social media couldn’t help but mock the Red Bull situation. On Reddit, one wrote, “I think Lewis may have used the force to spin Checo as there was no contact at T1” while another added, “Mercedes spent most of their budget on creating a force around Lewis’ car so that the Red Bull in front can spin around.”A third cited a quote from Star Wars and commented, “Lews using the force on T1, the empire strikes back”
Nevertheless, Red Bull will be hoping that their disastrous outing in Bahrain was a one-off event and will be eager to bounce back in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
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