Max Verstappen’s Chinese GP weekend failed to improve in the first Sprint race of 2026, with a point having not been scored.
Max Verstappen was lost for words following the China Sprint, deeming his Red Bull “just uncontrollable” at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Following a poor sprint qualifying session that saw Verstappen start eighth, the Dutchman immediately tumbled to the back of the pack after a shocking start.
The four-time world champion’s RB22 bogged down as he tried to pull away, costing him several positions.
Unlike in Melbourne, the 28-year-old found overtaking difficult, with Red Bull suffering from several issues ranging from poor balance to extreme tyre degradation.
It has been unable to compete with any of the top teams, to the extent that the Milton Keynes-based outfit’s performance has been of a midfield level.
In the end, Verstappen managed to recover to ninth, meaning he failed to score a point and prompting a brutal assessment of the team’s situation ahead of qualifying.
have not a lot of words at the moment, to be honest. Everything that could go wrong went wrong,” Verstappen told Sky F1.
“So yeah, the start is, of course, one problem that we have to fix. But after that, the balance is all over the place.
“Probably the highest degradation of everyone out there, which is just uncontrollable, and some other bits on the car that we’re not, I would say, well prepared for