Max Verstappen described Red Bull's performance on Friday at the Chinese Grand Prix as a disaster after qualifying eighth for the Shanghai sprint race. The four-time world champion was significantly off the pace set by Mercedes' George Russell, losing over 1.7 seconds in sprint qualifying. Verstappen highlighted issues with grip and balance in his RB22 car.
At the Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen faced a challenging Friday, qualifying in eighth position for the sprint race in Shanghai. This came after he was outpaced by an Alpine driver, marking a tough start to the weekend. In the single free practice session, Verstappen placed eighth, trailing George Russell's leading Mercedes by 1.8 seconds.
During sprint qualifying, Verstappen's difficulties persisted. He started in 11th in SQ1, improved to ninth in SQ2 despite an off-track moment in the final corner, and ended eighth in SQ3. His time deficit to Russell grew from 1.140 seconds in SQ1 to 1.734 seconds in SQ3. Teammate Isack Hadjar finished 10th, a further 0.5 seconds behind Verstappen.
Speaking on F1 TV, Verstappen expressed frustration: "The whole day has been a disaster, pace-wise. Yeah, no grip. Honestly, I think that’s the biggest problem – no grip, no balance, just losing massive amounts of time in the corners, to be honest. Then, of course, because of that, you start to trigger other little problems. But the big problem for us is just the cornering is completely out."
When asked about potential setup changes for the main qualifying and race, he responded cautiously: "We’ll have a look. I don’t know at the moment what we can do. We’ll see."
Verstappen arrived in China, where he secured victory in 2024, with tempered expectations. In Thursday's press conference, he noted the unpredictable nature of the field: "Impossible to know. I mean, honestly, it’s such a jungle out there at the moment... it’s clear that at the moment we cannot fight with those cars." This performance underscores Red Bull's ongoing struggles against top rivals like Mercedes.
