Max Verstappen frustrated after his retirement: “This is clearly not where we want to be”

The Chinese Grand Prix turned into a nightmare for Max Verstappen. Struggling all weekend, the Red Bull driver ultimately retired after 45 laps due to a technical issue. Between a botched start, struggling tires, and ERS issues, the Dutchman acknowledges that his team has a lot of work to do.

The Chinese Grand Prix weekend had already gotten off to a bad start for Max Verstappen. After a Sprint race he himself described as a “disaster,” the four-time world champion started only eighth on the grid.

And just like the day before, the start immediately turned into a problem. “The same problem as yesterday at the start. I don't know why it keeps happening,” he told Canal Plus.

The Dutchman quickly found himself in trouble in the pack. “We ended up last again, and I tried to make my way back up.”

But even after managing to weave his way through the traffic, the task looked complicated.

Tires in serious trouble

As the race went on, the RB proved particularly hard on the tires. “We had the same problem as in the Sprint: a lot of degradation and a huge amount of graining on the tires.”

A phenomenon that makes the car difficult to drive. “It complicates the race enormously.”

Verstappen remains realistic about his team's overall performance this weekend. “Even in a normal position, I wouldn't have been able to do much against Mercedes and Ferrari.”

An inevitable retirement

The situation finally came to a head with ten laps to go. Verstappen was forced to coast his car back to the pits.

The cause: an ERS cooling issue. Another blow in an already very difficult weekend for the Milton Keynes team.

Despite the frustration, Verstappen is trying to maintain a constructive approach. “There's a lot to learn. This is clearly not where we want to be.”

The Dutchman also knows that the entire team is working to turn things around. “The team is giving it their all. It's frustrating for me, but also for them.”

The priority now is to understand the issues encountered in Shanghai. “At the end of the day, we have to try to solve this together.”

Heading to Japan

Red Bull hopes to bounce back quickly at the next race in Japan. And the break that follows could be a welcome opportunity to reset.

“We're going to try to be a little better in Japan. Then, there will be a slightly longer break that will allow us, I hope, to fix some issues. ” As a reminder, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were canceled due to risks related to the war in the Middle East, giving the drivers a break of just over a month after Japan. We can imagine the Dutchman is (already) looking forward to a breather…