Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Friday, March 13, 2026, 2:48 p.m. / Updated Friday, March 13, 2026, 2:50 p.m.
Max Verstappen (28) was only eighth in qualifying for the sprint race in China on the second weekend of the Formula 1 season.
It's a complicated start to the season for the multiple world champion. In the first weekend, in Australia, Verstappen crashed and started the race from 20th place. He climbed up to 6th, but this start of the season still left a bitter taste.
And this second weekend of the season started inauspiciously for Verstappen. The Red Bull Racing driver was only eighth in the qualifying for the Chinese sprint racescheduled for Saturday morning, 05:00.
It is not the position that is alarming, but the distance from the fastest drivers of the moment, the Mercedes pair. Verstappen was 1.734 seconds slower than George Russellthen seriously complained about the behavior of the RB21 car.
Max Verstappen, desperate for the Red Bull single-seater: “Disaster in terms of pace”
The Dutchman's main complaints were the lack of grip and cornering speed.
“The whole day was a disaster in terms of pace. No grip. Often I think that was the biggest problem. No grip, no balance, we just lose a lot of time in the corners.
That's where other problems start. But our biggest problem right now is cornering. At the moment I have no idea what we can do, but we will see, we will analyze”, commented Verstappen after qualifying, according to sportal.bg.
The starting grid for the Chinese sprint race:
