It is – to put it mildly – not yet Max Verstappen’s weekend. After a difficult sprint qualifying on Friday, the sprint race won by George Russell also fell through for him on Saturday morning. “Completely rubbish,” found the four-time Red Bull world champion.
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Verstappen started the nineteen-lap sprint race from P8 at the Shanghai International Circuit. However, he struggled to get off the line at the start and dropped back to P20. “I had no power,” he reacted in the paddock in front of Viaplay’s cameras. “I think it was the same as what happened to Liam Lawson in Australia.”
In the remainder of the sprint race, Verstappen did make it back into the midfield, but he finished in P9, just outside the points. In clear terms, Max Verstappen let it be known what he thought of it afterwards. “It was completely rubbish, I don’t need to talk about it. Just no balance, no grip, tires are shot…”
Read more Relive Chinese GP qualifying: Pole for Antoneli, Verstappen eighth
Necessary adjustments will still be made to the car before qualifying, Verstappen confirmed. “Yes, we are going to try something.”
Read more Qualifying results GP China 2026
Qualifying for the Chinese GP is Saturday at 08.00 Dutch time.
Read everything about the Chinese GP here
