Max Verstappen bemoaned that his Red Bull car is “completely undriveable” after a dismal Saturday that saw him qualify eighth for the Chinese Grand Prix and endure a torrid sprint race.
The four-time world champion’s fastest lap was just over one second slower than pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, with the two Mercedes cars securing a front row lockout in Shanghai.
“We changed a lot on the car, and it makes zero difference,” Vertsappen said.
“The whole weekend we’ve been off, the car is completely undriveable. Every lap is like survival.”
The Dutchman started eighth on the grid for Saturday’s earlier 19-lap sunk sprint race around the Shanghai International Circuit but sunk to as low as 14th when the field pitted under the safety car that was out for Nico Hulkenberg’s troubled Audi.
He fought back to finish ninth, behind sister team Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, but it wasn’t enough to avoid missing out on the points – the first time he’s fallen to such a feat in a sprint race.
“It’s incredibly tough to drive. There’s no balance, I cannot lean on the car, every lap is a fight,” Verstappen added, having come into the weekend hoping to make more of an impact after a sixth-place finish in Australia.
This is the first season Red Bull have run their own engine, having partnered with Ford, which ended a very successful six-year streak with Honda.
Verstappen said the new power unit was partly to blame, but added that the poor performance was down to a multitude of factors.
“From lap one of these new regulations, I have not enjoyed this car for sure,” he said. “It’s not going to be a fun race.”
