Mercedes TROLL Red Bull using Ever Given Suez Canal meme; Watch

Seven-time Driver's Champion Lewis Hamilton beat young gun Max Verstappen at the Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 despite not having the faster car. Mercedes pulled out an excellent tyre strategy to help Hamilton undercut Verstappen and retain the lead towards the end of the race. After the race, Mercedes trolled Red Bull Racing using the Ever Given Suez Canal meme.

Bahrain Grand Prix 2021: Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen battle

During qualifying, Max Verstappen recorded a stunning lap to put Red Bull on pole as he was 0.388s quicker than the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. However, Red Bull Racing did not have that significant of a pace advantage during the race. As a result, the undercut was possible and Hamilton ensured that he was always in touching distance of Verstappen.

Mercedes pit Hamilton as early as lap 13 and put the onus on Red Bull Racing to respond. Red Bull responded by pitting the Dutch driver on lap 17, but that time was enough for Hamilton to perform the undercut. Mercedes deployed an aggressive tyre strategy as they betted on their track position to fend off Verstappen's threat.

Similarly, Mercedes again pit Hamilton early for his second stop to prevent Verstappen from performing his own undercut. As a result, Verstappen was again forced to maximise his current stint to gain an advantage later on in the race. Verstappen extended his second stint to lap 39 and emerged from his second stop 8.8s behind Hamilton but with tyres that were 11 laps younger.

Ever Given Suez Canal meme: Mercedes troll Red Bull Racing as Hamilton beats Verstappen

With Mercedes gambling on their tyre strategy, Red Bull Racing were always going to have a chance to overtake Hamilton because of fresher tyres. Verstappen's big chance came on lap 53 when he passed Hamilton around the outside of Turn 4, but ran wide on the exit. Race Control told Red Bull that Verstappen was required to give the position back, and Verstappen obliged. Once Hamilton got the position back Verstappen made a series of errors, helping Hamilton and Mercedes scrape through a victory.

After Mercedes emerged victorious in the Bahrain Grand Prix, they attempted to demonstrate their might by posting a picture on Twitter of a Mercedes F1 car freeing the Ever Given from the Suez Canal. As expected, Red Bull Racing fans were not impressed and one fan, Dhruv_Sampat responded, "You're gonna need a red bull for this one..." Mercedes F1 gave a ruthless response, "Why, because it's off the track?"

Verstappen was unable to grab the lead from Hamilton on lap 53 as he went off the track. As a result, he would have received a penalty from the stewards if he did not give the place back to Hamilton. Mercedes F1 were quick to use that analogy as they gave an epic reply to the Red Bull Racing fan.