Max Verstappen retired after 46 laps during the Chinese GP. After a dramatic start at the Shanghai International Circuit, where the Dutchman immediately lost eight places, he worked his way back forward impressively. The four-time world champion had to cut his race short in the closing stages, presumably due to a technical problem. With ten laps to go, Verstappen was called to the pit lane. He was the seventh retirement in Shanghai.
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Max Verstappen experienced a surprising late retirement during the Chinese GP. It marked the end of a dramatic weekend for the Red Bull driver. After a difficult qualifying session – in which he only set the eighth fastest time – Verstappen again made a remarkably poor start; he fell back to sixteenth place. The four-time world champion then worked on an impressive recovery race and fought his way back to sixth place.
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In lap 45, however, disaster struck. The RB22 slowed down, after which the team ordered Verstappen to abandon the race. He became the third driver to retire from the race, after the two Aston Martins. Four drivers did not even manage to appear at the start of the second race of 2026.
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