Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Frustrations Boil Over In Shanghai: 'Never Had Anything This Bad'

Last Updated:March 13, 2026, 15:54 IST

Verstappen endured another frustrating day at the Chinese GP, qualifying only eighth for the Sprint race -- after which he ripped into the 'undriveable' nature of his car.

If the start of the 2026 season has felt like déjà vu for Max Verstappen, it’s because the reigning champion once again seems to be dragging a struggling car through the grid.

The four-time world champion endured another frustrating day at the Chinese Grand Prix, qualifying only eighth for the sprint race after a session that laid bare Red Bull Racing’s early-season struggles.

To make matters worse, Verstappen finished a staggering 1.7 seconds behind sprint pole-sitter George Russell — a huge gap by modern F1 qualifying standards.

And the Dutchman didn’t hold back afterward.

“The car’s undriveable. We never had anything this bad, with everything together," Verstappen said over team radio, clearly frustrated with the RB’s performance.

A Day to Forget

It wasn’t just the final result that stung.

Verstappen’s session included a moment of chaos when he was forced to make a sudden evasive manoeuvre mid-lap, sending the Red Bull bouncing through the gravel as Pierre Gasly flashed past.

But even without the drama, Verstappen admitted the car simply lacked pace all day.

“The whole day has been a disaster, pace-wise," he said.

“No grip. Honestly, I think that’s the biggest problem. No grip, no balance, just losing massive amounts of time in the corners."

He added that the lack of cornering performance was triggering other issues.

“Because of that, you start triggering other little problems. But the big problem for us is that the cornering is completely out."

Red Bull Off the Pace

The problems weren’t limited to Verstappen. His teammate Isack Hadjar also struggled, finishing 10th in sprint qualifying.

With the cars now locked under parc ferme conditions, Red Bull have little room to fix their issues before the sprint race and Saturday’s main qualifying session.

Bigger Frustrations Brewing

Verstappen’s frustrations go beyond just one difficult session.

The Dutchman has repeatedly voiced his concerns about Formula One’s new hybrid power units, which split output roughly 50-50 between combustion and electric power.

Earlier this week he joked that his preparation now looks less like simulator work and more like gaming.

“I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch," Verstappen said. “I’m practising with Mario Kart, actually."

He has previously described the new generation of cars as feeling like “Formula E on steroids."

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