Chinese GP: Verstappen brands Red Bull car “completely undrivable” after sprint struggles
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said his RB22 Formula One car is “completely undrivable,” after qualifying eighth for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix and a torrid sprint race earlier in the day.
“We changed a lot on the car, and it makes zero difference,” the four-time world champion told reporters after setting a fastest lap that was just over one second slower than pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, with the two Mercedes cars securing a front row lockout.
“The whole weekend we’ve been off, the car is completely undriveable,” the Dutchman said. “Every lap is like survival.”
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The Red Bull driver sunk to as low as 14th place after having qualified eighth in Saturday’s earlier 19-lap sprint race around the Shanghai International Circuit, finally finishing in 9th and behind sister team Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
“It’s incredibly tough to drive. There’s no balance, I cannot lean on the car, every lap is a fight,” the 71-times race winner told Sky Sports F1, having come into the weekend hoping to make more of an impact after making his way from the back of the grid to finish sixth at the previous race in Australia.
This is the first season Red Bull has run its 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 added. “It’s not going to be a fun race.”
Published on Mar 14, 2026